The IPL has always been a tournament that has had the biggest cricketing stars on the field. But off the field as well, a number of legendary cricketers are associated with the 10 franchises as Head Coaches.
TimesofIndia.com here takes a look at the 10 Head Coaches who will be in charge of strategy, planning and more in IPL 2023:
Chennai Super Kings: Stephen Fleming
Age: 49
A former New Zealand captain, Fleming has been associated with the Chennai Super Kings franchise as both player and coach. Considered to be one of the best batsmen New Zealand cricket has ever produced, Fleming played for CSK in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008. In 2009 he retired as a player and was appointed Head Coach of the CSK franchise. Under Fleming, CSK won the IPL title in 2010 and the now defunct Champions League T20. The next year in 2011 Fleming again coached CSK to the IPL title. In the two seasons that CSK was suspended from the league Fleming coached the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant team. He returned as CSK coach in 2018 and immediately tasted success again, with the team winning the 2018 title. Under his leadership, CSK won the title again in 2021. Fleming therefore has been CSK Head Coach in all the 4 seasons that they have won the title in so far. In international cricket, Fleming played 111 Tests, 280 ODIs and 5 T20Is, scoring over 15000 international runs, with 17 centuries. He is considered to be one of the best coaches the IPL has ever had.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Brian Lara
Age: 53
Hands down one of the all time greats of the game, Brian Lara is now Head Coach of the Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL franchise. He took over from longtime coach Tom Moody. Lara has been associated with SRH earlier as batting coach and advisor. He has never played in the IPL, but any team would love to have him as part of their coaching staff. Lara's immediate task will be to try and find momentum for SRH. Since winning the IPL title in 2016, the Hyderabad based franchise hasn't really set the IPL stage on fire. In 2022, SRH finished 8th out of 10 teams, with 6b wins and 8 losses in their 14 league stage games. SRH have a new skipper too in South African Aiden Markram, who incidentally led the SAT20 franchise of the Sunrisers to the maiden title in the league. Lara and Markram will have their task cut out to try and get SRH back to winning ways. It will be very interesting to see the strategies that Lara the Head Coach comes up with, especially in a season where we will see some new innovations like the Impact Player and captains being able to change their playing XIs after the toss. Overall in international cricket, Lara played 131 Tests and 299 ODIs, scoring over 22000 international runs, with 53 centuries.
Mumbai Indians: Mark Boucher
Age: 46
Former South African wicket-keeper batsman Mark Boucher was unveiled as the new Mumbai Indians Head Coach ahead of the 2023 season, after former Head Coach Mahela Jayawardene was made Head of Performance for all three Mumbai T20 franchises (IPL, ILT20, SAT20). Boucher stepped down as the Head Coach of the South African national team after the last edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia. Boucher had earlier been a wicketkeeping coach for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2016 edition of the IPL. He has also played for franchises like KKR and RCB. In international cricket, the 46 year old Boucher played 147 Tests, 295 ODIs and 25 T20Is, scoring over 10000 international runs with 6 centuries. As a wicket-keeper and fielder, Boucher took over 900 international catches and effected 46 stumpings.
Delhi Capitals: Ricky Ponting
Age: 48
One of the biggest names in Australian and world cricket, Ricky Ponting took charge of the Delhi franchise of the IPL in 2018. Though Delhi finished last that season, Ponting worked hard on changing the team environment and nurturing players like Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. Under his leadership Delhi finished in 3rd place in the 2019 season. In 2020, Delhi Capitals were the runners-up and in 2021 they finished third again. Ponting is given a lot of credit for turning the Delhi franchise into an outfit that began to compete aggressively in the league. Delhi are still looking for their maiden IPL title and Ponting's leadership will be crucial once again in the 2023 season. Before joining the Delhi franchise, Ponting was the Head Coach of the Mumbai Indians franchise from 2014 to 2016. MI won the 2015 title under his stewardship. Inm international cricket, Ponting played 168 Tests, 375 ODIs and 17 T20Is, scoring over 27000 international runs with 71 international centuries. He is third on the list of most international centuries behind only Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. Ponting as Australia captain also won the ICC ODI World Cup in 2003 and 2007. He was also part of the Australian World Cup winning team of 1999. He remains one of the most successful international cricket captains of all time.
Gujarat Titans: Ashish Nehra
Age: 43
Former Indian fast bowler, Ashish Nerhra made headlines in the 2022 season when he became the first Indian Head Coach to win the IPL title. The newly formed Gujarat Titans franchise named him their Head Coach and Nehra, along with captain Hardik Pandya led GT to their first title in their maiden season. Nehra has been associated with multiple IPL teams over the years as both player and coach. He has earlier been the bowling coach of the RCB franchise in 2018 and 2019. As a player, Nehra has played for teams like - Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and Chennai. The former left-arm fast bowler was one of India's go to strike bowlers for many years in international cricket. Overall he played 17 Tests, 120 ODIs and 27 T20Is, taking over 200 international wickets. In the 2003 ICC ODI World Cup, Nehra returned figures of 6/23 vs Engfland, which remain the best figures by an Indian bowler in a World Cup match. He was named by the ICC in the Team of the Tournament for the 2016 T20 World Cup. He announced his retirement as a player in 2017. In the 20123 season, Nehra's prime aim will be to strategise GT's campaign such that they can produce an encore of their 2022 run. GT are aiming to become just the third team after CSK and M I to successfully defend the IPL title.
1/10:IPL 2023: What the stars have been up to so far
2/10:Virat Kohli (RCB)
<p>After the completion of the ODI series against Australia, Kohli arrived in Bengaluru to join his side RCB.<br /></p>
3/10:Virat Kohli (RCB)
<p>He was seen having a good time with teammate Glenn Maxwell during a practice session at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium.<br /></p>
4/10:MS Dhoni (CSK)
<p>The evergreen MSD was seen smashing the ball all over the newly renovated Chepauk stadium.<br /></p>
5/10:MS Dhoni (CSK)
<p>The CSK skipper also tried his hand at spray painting seats in the stadium. And he did quite a good job!<br /></p>
6/10:Tim Southee (KKR)
<p>Kiwi skipper, Tim Southee landed in Kolkata to join his side for the upcoming IPL season.<br /></p>
7/10:Andre Russell (KKR)
<p>'Muscle-Russell' was seen smashing the ball with his willow in an Intra-squad KKR match at the Eden Gardens.<br /></p>
8/10:KL Rahul (LSG)
<p>LSG skipper KL Rahul joined his side ahead of the IPL. Rahul was seen in the nets stroking some good shots.<br /></p>
9/10:Shubman Gill and Kane Williamson (GT)
<p>India’s rising star Shubman Gill was seen with former Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson during a practice session of GT. Shubman was the second highest run-getter for GT last season, behind skipper Hardik Pandya.<br /></p>
10/10:Shikhar Dhawan (PBKS)
<p>Newly appointed Punjab Kings skipper, Shikhar Dhawan was seen knocking the ball around in the nets during a training session. <br /></p>Lucknow Super Giants: Andy Flower
Age: 54
One of the best cricketers of his generation and part of Zimbabwe's golden generation of cricketers, Andy Flower has earlier served as assistant coach of the Punjab Kings IPL franchise in 2020 and 2021. He was named Head Coach of the newly formed LSG franchise ahead of IPL 2022. The first ever Zimbabwean to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, Flower coached LSG to a respectable third place finish after the league stage in IPL 2022. They eventually lost in the Eliminator to RCB. Along with captain, KL Rahul, Flower will be aiming to take LSG at least a step further this time in IPL 2023. Flower has extensive coaching experience, having been with the England national team for a long time as assistant coach and then as Team Director and Head Coach. He led the England team to the Number 1 Test ranking, the 2010 T20 World Cup title and also Ashes success in Australia. His association with English cricket stretched for 12 years. In international cricket, Flower played 63 Tests and 213 ODIs, scoring over 11000 international runs with 16 centuries. As a fielder and wicket-keeper he took over 290 catches and effected over 40 stumpings.
Rajasthan Royals: Kumar Sangakkara
Age: 45
One of the best cricketers that Sri Lanka has ever produced and a true legend of the game, Kumar Sangakkara serves as both the Director of Cricket and Head Coach of the Rajasthan Royals IPL franchise. As a player, Sangakkara featured in 5 seasons of the IPL and has played for teams like the Deccan Chargers, the erstwhile Kings XI Punjab and also captained the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Ahead of IPL 2021, Sangakkara was named as RR's Director of Cricket. Over the years Sangakkara was prolific as a batsman and also one of the best wicket-keepers in world cricket. He has served as the President of the MCC, is an ICC Hall of Fame inductee. He was Man of the Match in the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup final in which Sri Lanka beat India to win the title. He was also part of Sri Lankan teams which made 4 World Cup finals across the ODI and T20 formats, including the 2011 ODI WC final where India beat Sri Lanka. He is widely regarded as one of the finest students of the game. In international cricket overall Sangakkara played 134 Tests, 404 ODIs and 56 T20Is, scoring over 27000 international runs, with 63 centuries. As a fielder and wicket-keeper he took over 600 international catches and effected over 130 stumpings. In the 2022 IPL season, RR had a great run under Sangakkara, finishing second on the points table after the league stage. They eventually finished as the runners-up, losing to Gujarat Titans in the summit clash. The Royals haven't won the IPL title since the inaugural edition in 2008. Sangakkara the Head Coach will have a big role to play if they are to win their second title this season.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Chandrakant Pandit
Age: 61
Yet another wicket-keeper batsman who is Head Coach of an IPL team. Chandrakant Pandit is a legend in Indian domestic cricketing circles as a coach who really has the midas touch. He coached his home team, Madhya Pradesh to their maiden Ranji Trophy title in the 2021-22 season. Overall, he has been the Head Coach of as many as 6 Ranji Trophy winning teams. Pandit in fact is KKR's first ever Indian Head Coach. He replaced Brendon McCullum, who stepped down as Head Coach of the 2 time champions after deciding to take over as the England men's team's Head Coach. Pandit in fact is only the third Indian Head Coach of an IPL franchise, after Sanjay Bangar and Ashish Nehra. The 2023 season will be the first one where he will be in charge of the KKR team, which is still looking for its third title and have had a title-less run in 8 seasons now. Pandit is known to be a strict disciplinarian and also someone who can work wonders with little known names. That might work very well in KKR's favour, considering they don't really have too many big international names right now on their roster. In 2022, KKR had another disappointing run, finishing 7th out of 10 teams, with 6 wins and 8 losses. Pandit's immediate aim will be to ensure that he establishes a good working relationship with new captain Nitish Rana. Overall, in international cricket, Pandit played 5 Tests and 36 ODIs for India, scoring over 400 international runs. As a fielder and wicket-keeper he took 29 catches and effected 17 stumpings.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Sanjay Bangar
Age: 50
Sanjay Bangar knows a thing or two about being a player in the IPL, having played for franchises like the now defunct Deccan Chargers and KKR. As a coach, Bangar began his IPL association in 2010 as a batting coach for the now defunct Kochi Tuskers. Ahead of the 2014 season, Bangar was named assistant coach of the then Kings XI Punjab franchise. He was subsequently made Head Coach that season itself and he coached the team to the final, where they eventually lost to KKR. He has also served as the Head coach of the Indian men's national team (for Zimbabwe Tour in 2016) and the batting coach of the side as well. Players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have appreciated Bangar's role in shaping their growth as batters. In November 2021, Bangar was named Head Coach of the RCB team. In the 2022 IPL season, RCB under Bangar finished 4th on the points table after the league stage, with 8 wins and 6 losses in their 14 games. RCB has never won the IPL title and Bangar will be hoping he becomes the first man to do what no one else has managed to do in 15 seasons. He will once again be working very closely with Virat and of course the RCB skipper Faf du Plessis. Overall in international cricket, Bangar played 12 Tests and 15 ODIs for India, scoring 650 international runs, with one Test century. He also took 14 international wickets as a right arm medium fast bowler.
Punjab Kings: Trevor Bayliss
Age: 60
Trevor Bayliss is another Head Coach who is known to have the golden touch. He is currently the Head Coach of the Punjab Kings franchise and knows what it takes to win an IPL title - something Punjab are yet to do in 15 seasons. Bayliss coached KKR to both their titles in 2012 and 2014. In 2015, Bayliss took over as the Head Coach of the England men's cricket team. He was the man in charge when England won the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup beating New Zealand in hands down the most nerve-wracking final ever. As the new Punjab Head Coach, Bayliss replaced former India cricketer Anil Kumble. Ahead of the 2023 season Bayliss has indicated that two of the main areas that he will be looking into as coach are - death overs batting and taking wickets in the middle overs. He has also talked about how the culture that he would like to bring in is one where the players don't feel any pressure and play with a Bayliss will have Shikhar Dhawan as the captain of the team and a formidable looking team on paper. But Punjab have boasted that in the past as well and are yet to win the IPL title. The big challenge will be to get the team to find and keep the winning momentum. And Bayliss knows a thing or two about how that can be done. He played 58 First Class matches for New South Wales, but couldn't make the Australia cut. It was as a coach that Bayliss really made his mark.
