Mike Hesson, the former New Zealand coach, will look to “immerse himself entirely” in his new role as director of cricket operations at Indian Premier League side Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Hesson was in the running for the India head coach job, but missed out narrowly to Ravi Shastri. However, he will still work with Virat Kohli, the RCB captain, and Hesson said the key to his new role was to put the right people in the right places.
“Talent in India is never an issue. It’s really about maximising talent, that’s what our job is as coaches,” said Hesson. “That will be my role as director of operations. If we get the right people in place, things will naturally fall into place. It’s about creating an environment where players can go and express themselves.”
Eight years after his only IPL game, Haddin returns as coach.https://t.co/9Pmdh3ZBV8
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 20, 2019
RCB have never won the IPL. They have reached the finals thrice – in 2009, 2011 and 2016 – but have fallen short of those standards in recent years, finishing the 2019 edition at the bottom of the table.
To reverse that, RCB restructured their structure to a “single-coach model”. Simon Katich was appointed as head coach last week, and the hope is that the new model can effect a turnaround in fortunes.
[caption id=”attachment_104318″ align=”alignnone” width=”800″]
RCB are yet to win an IPL title[/caption]
“The key fact in any new place is to immerse yourself entirely in the experience, rather than trying to impose your views and the way you work,” said Hesson. “You need to be adapting. It’s not the other way around.
“He (Katich) was on the radar for RCB for a while, and rightfully so because he’s very talented. He was part of our discussions too. I feel like RCB have gotten the right man for the job. We hope to put our best foot forward.”
