12 years after representing Kolkata Knight Riders, Tatenda Taibu sets eyes on coaching an IPL team

Tatenda Taibu, the former Zimbabwe captain, who featured in 28 Tests, 150 ODIs and 16 T20Is for the African nation between 2001-2012 love for India is well documented. The spunky wicketkeeper-batsman has, time and again, reiterated his love for the country and Asia, in general, and now he hopes to coach one of Indian Premier League or an Indian Ranji team in the future.

Taibu, who has based himself in England post his retirement from International cricket is back in India to participate in the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters 2020 (MBIFL20) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, in the capacity of a special guest at the annual literary festival, organized by the Mathrubhumi newspaper group

Taibu spoke about his aspirations of coaching an Indian domestic or an IPL team after recently missing out on a role within the Sri Lankan technical team.

“Recently I had applied for the position of fielding coach for the Sri Lanka national team. I was shortlisted in the last three, but narrowly missed it. “I would love to be a coach at one of the IPL teams or Ranji Trophy teams. I am confident that I can be a valuable addition,” said Taibu as quoted by www.thestandard.co.zw.

‘Everything else stops for the IPL’: Tatenda Taibu

Taibu, who held the record of becoming the youngest Test captain, until it was recently broken by Rashid Khan, hailed India as the side to beat in world cricket in the current era. The former Zimbabwe captain feels that even though Indian cricket always had the talent, it is the advent of the IPL that has played a key role in revolutionizing their game certain aspects.

“India is the team to beat now. They are the team to beat in all aspects and are totally dominant. IPL is one of the biggest events in the world of cricket now. Everything else stops for the IPL. There may be similar T20 leagues in other countries, but nothing comes close in any aspect, be it the number of players, their quality or the way IPL has been marketed. You name any aspect of cricket IPL is head and shoulders above everything else,” said the former wicketkeeper.

He added: “India always had talent, but their development in various areas of the game was revolutionized by the IPL. The event brought Indian players close to cricket from other parts of the world. “Not just players, but coaches, trainers, physicians etc. This helped the holistic development of Indian cricket. Now you can see that they are at the top of their game in every aspect.”

Taibu was the first Zimbabwe cricketer to feature in the cash-rich league after he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for US$125000 in the inaugural season but due to the presence of Brendon McCullum, the Zimbabwean got a chance in the starting 11 in just three games before being eventually released ahead of the 2009 auction. 12 years on, Taibu now dreams of coaching an IPL side one day.

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