Mumbai Indians appoint South Africa legend Mark Boucher as head coach

Days after promoting Mahela Jayawardene and Zaheer Khan to global roles, Mumbai Indians (MI) – the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise – have appointed former South Africa keeper-batter Mark Boucher as their head coach. Notably, Boucher, who is currently donning the same role for South Africa Men’s cricket team, will end his stint with the national side after the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022.

Boucher will take over from Jayawardene, who has served as head coach of MI since 2017. Under him, the Mumbai-based franchise have won three titles. Not to mention, Jayawardene has been elevated to a new role as the Global Head of Performance, with the franchise securing teams in the SA20 as well as the ILT20 tournament.

Akash Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, expressed his excitement and said that Boucher would add immense value to the team.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome Mark Boucher to Mumbai Indians. With his proven expertise on the field and off it as a coach guiding his team to numerous victories, Mark will add immense value to MI and take forward its legacy,” said Akash in a statement.

Boucher also enunciated his exhilaration on the new role, stating that he was honoured to coach a side which has accomplished so many heights in the cash-rich league.

“It is an honour and privilege to be appointed as Head Coach of MI. Their history and achievements as a franchise clearly put them up there as one of the most successful sporting franchises in all of the world sports. I look forward to the challenge and respect the need for results. It’s a strong unit with great leadership and players. I look forward to adding value to this dynamic unit,” said Boucher.