Former Australian cricketer Simon Katich has stepped down as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach due to personal reasons on Saturday (August 21) ahead of the resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) from September 19 in the UAE.
The Director of Cricket Operations of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Mike Hesson, will now take over the head coach’s role for the rest of the IPL 2021 season in the UAE after Katich's resignation.
The RCB also announced a few changes to their squad ahead of the second phase of the IPL 14, as they have added Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, and Tim David as replacements for Adam Zampa, Daniel Sams, and Finn Allen to the side.
The RCB Vice-President and Head Rajesh Menon thanked Katich for his contribution to the team over the last two years and wished him success in the future.
As per RCB’s official website, Menon stated: “As the season resumes in the UAE, it’s going to be an exciting chapter ahead. Simon Katich has decided to step down as the Head Coach of RCB, we would like to thank Katich for his work during his time at Royal Challengers and wish him success in the future. In the interim, Mike Hesson will step in and discharge the duties of the Head coach until the end of the current season, in addition to his existing role of Director of Cricket.”
Meanwhile, Hesson said of the changes, “We’ve made some changes to the squad pertaining to the situation. We’ve come a long way and shown steady progress as a team. The addition of Hasaranga, Tim David, and Chameera couldn’t have come at a better time during the replacement window, as we aim to continue with the momentum, building on our performance from earlier this year.”
He also revealed that the RCB had their eyes on Hasaranga for a while and finally acquired his services after being impressed with his performance against India in the recent home series.
Hesson concluded, “We have a scouting programme for at least the last two years where we know players around the world. Wanindu was in our radar for a long time. It’s certainly not a regency factor. We’re not surprised by his success in recent times. We like his skillset, offers us the chance to bat a little bit deep. Gives us a lot of exciting options. The fact that he performed against India is great, but not surprising.”
Noteworthy, the RCB players and support staff will assemble in Bengaluru on Saturday, August 21 and will undergo seven day quarantine period, as well as, they will undergo three COVID-19 tests and upon negative test reports, they will depart for the UAE via a chartered flight from Bangalore on August 29.
RCB will resume their IPL 2021 campaign on September 20 against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. They have won 5 games of their 7 games in the IPL 14.
(With RCB inputs)
