Royal Challengers Bangalore likely to rope in Gary Kirsten as franchise head coach

Former team India head coach Gary Kirsten is likely to take up the coaching responsibility of the Royal Challengers Bangalore franchise in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The former South African cricketer is reportedly in talks with the RCB camp for the big offer. As per the recent reports in ESPNcricinfo, the news is yet to be officially confirmed by the RCB management.

In case the news gets confirmed, the current head coach of the team, Daniel Vettori, will also continue to be a part of the team management. Incidentally, this is not the first time that Gary Kirsten would be associated with an IPL franchise in the capacity of the head coach. Earlier in the year 2014, the Delhi Daredevils had signed Kirsten as their head coach. It was a three year deal between Gary and the Daredevils.

However, the deal saw a premature end as the fortunes of the Delhi Daredevils did not change despite the change of their head coach. Under Kirsten’s reign, DD finished at number 7 and number 8 position in the two successive editions. They could win only 7 matches in the 28 matches that they played across the two editions of the IPL under Kirsten. Hence, the Daredevils terminated their contract with him.

Kirsten making BBL debut this season

Despite this major blip in his coaching stint, Gary Kirsten continues to be one of the most highly rated coaches in the world cricket. It was under his coaching that the Indian cricket team had lifted the ICC World Cup in 2011. Also, Kirsten will be seen making his coaching debut in the BBL this year.

He has replaced Damien Wright as the head coach of the Hobart Hurricanes. Hurricanes had finished at the penultimate position in the previous edition of the BBL and hence, Wright parted ways with the franchise after the season. Reportedly, it was Ricky Ponting who suggested Kirsten’s name to join the Hobart roster.

For now, it will be interesting to see if the RCB camp ropes in Gary Kirsten as their head coach. At the IPL 2018 auctions, the team is likely to retain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. They could use the RTM cards to pick Chris Gayle.