Former Australia cricketer Andre McDonald has been named the new head coach of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. He replaces Paddy Upton at the helm after the team finished a disappointing 7th in IPL 2019.
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McDonald has played in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore and was associated with the franchise before being removed during the sweeping changes in IPL 2018. McDonald has a good report as a coach in Australian domestic cricket. He coached Victoria to title wins in List A tournament and Sheffield Shield apart from coaching Melbourne Renegades to title triumph.
He has recently signed a contract with Birmingham Phoenix for the inaugural season of The Hundreds which is going to hit headlines in 2020.
The IPL 2019 saw RR change captains from Ajinkya Rahane to Steve Smith, and back to Rahane and this affected their performance in the tournament, as they had looked to replicate their performance of IPL 2018 when they reached the playoffs.
It remains to be seen who captains the franchise next year, with the auctions poised to happen in Kolkata in December.
