RCB name Hesson, Katich at the helm

The Royal Challengers Bangalore named former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson as Director Cricket Operations and former Australia batsman Simon Katich as Head Coach.

RCB thus parted ways with Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra, who were at the helm in the last season of Indian Premier League. Kirsten, who coached India during their 50-over World Cup-winning campaign in 2011, was appointed coach and mentor of RCB in August last year. Nehra donned the role of the bowling coach.

In a statement on Friday, RCB said that as Director Cricket Operations, Hesson will be responsible for overall operations including strategy, scouting, defining policy and performance management. The Bengaluru franchise added that Director Cricket Operations was a new position created.

The 44-year-old Hesson had put his hat in the ring for the job of Indian team’s coach and almost piped Ravi Shastri, who was reappointed as the national team’s coach last week. Under Hesson, the New Zealand team played a fearless brand of cricket and finished runners-up at the 2015 World Cup. Katich was the assistant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders for four seasons.

“We are happy to welcome Mike and Simon. We believe that Mike’s extensive experience in building strong teams along with Simon’s powerful cricket experience will help us create a winning culture,” said Sanjeev Churiwala, chairman, RCB.

RCB, who are yet to lift their maiden title in the IPL, endured a pathetic campaign last season. Virat Kohli’s men, with just five wins from 14 games, finished rock bottom in the eight-team table.