IPL 2020: Meet the backroom staff of the eight teams

From Ricky Ponting and Stephen Fleming taking up head coach roles to Sachin Tendulkar mentoring the Mumbai Indians, here's a complete list of IPL teams' support and coaching staff.

Delhi Capitals' head coach Ricky Ponting (left), Mumbai Indians' mentor Sachin Tendulkar (centre) and Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming (right).

The Indian Premier League (IPL) brings some of the biggest superstars of world cricket together. But the star power isn’t restricted to the players. Each franchise has legendary former players from around the globe serving as support staff, many of whom have even played in the league in the past before joining the clubs in various capacities.

Let’s take a look at the coaching staff of the eight teams of IPL 2020.

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DELHI CAPITALS:

Head Coach- Ricky Ponting

Assistant Coach- Mohammad Kaif

Spin Bowling Coach- Samuel Badree

Fast Bowling Coach- Ryan Harris

Head of Scouting- Vijay Dahiya

Assistant Physiotherapist- Dhananjay Kaushik

Strength and conditioning coach - Rajinikanth Sivagnanam

Analyst- Sriram Somayajula

Physiotherapist- Patrick Farhat

 

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is the head coach of the Delhi Capitals. Ponting played 17 matches in the IPL, scoring 401 runs, including two fifties, before joining Mumbai Indians as an advisor in 2014.

He led MI in the 2013 edition. In 2014, he was appointed the team's head coach. After his long association with MI, Ponting joined Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) as the head coach in 2018.

He has former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif as his deputy. Windies leg-spinner Samuel Badree and Ryan Harris head the spin and fast bowling departments, respectively. Harris replaced James Hopes as the fast bowling coach. Hopes, who was the team’s bowling coach in 2018 and 2019, was unable to travel with the team this year owing to personal reasons.

Sourav Ganguly (left, advisor to Delhi Capitals in 2019) in conversation with head coach Ricky Ponting and assistant coach Mohammad Kaif (right).

 

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS:

Head Coach- Stephen Fleming

Batting Coach- Michael Hussey

Bowling Coach- Lakshmipathy Balaji

Bowling Consultant- Eric Simons

Fielding Coach- Rajiv Kumar

Throwdown Specialist- Narasimhan V.

Physio- Tommy Simsek

Physical Trainer- Greg King

High Performance analyst- Lakshmi Narayanan

Team Doctor-  Madhu Thottappillil

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Former New Zealand batsman Stephen Fleming is the head coach of three-time champion Chennai Super Kings. He is a former CSK batsman who played 10 matches and scored 196 runs in the inaugural edition. The southpaw signed a long-term contract with CSK in 2018, just before the team’s return from its two-year ban.

In the same year, CSK secured the services of former India pacer L. Balaji as bowling coach and Australia’s Michael Hussey as batting coach.

Hussey played 59 IPL matches for CSK and MI, scoring 1977 runs. 

Both head Stephen Fleming (left) and bowling coach Lakshmipathy Balaji (centre) are former Chennai Super Kings' players.

 

MUMBAI INDIANS:

Director of Cricket- Zaheer Khan

Head Coach- Mahela Jayawardene

Batting Coach- Robin Singh

Batting Mentor- Sachin Tendulkar

Bowling Coach- Shane Bond

Fielding Coach- James Pamment

Talent Scouts- John Wright, Kiran More, T. A. Shekhar, Pravin Amre, Abey Kuruvilla

Physiotherapist- Nitin Patel

Assistant Physiotherapist-  Ashutosh Nimse

Strength and conditioning coach- Paul Chapman

Assistant Trainer- Pratik Kadam

Assistant Trainer- Nagendra Prasad

Video Analyst- L. Varun

Nutritionist- Kinita Kadakia Patel

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Mahela Jayawardena is the head coach of the four-time champion Mumbai Indians. He was appointed before the start of the 2017 edition. The Sri Lanka legend played for various teams in the IPL before taking up coaching duties. Between 2008 and 2013, he played 80 matches in the IPL and amassed 1802 runs.

The great Sachin Tendulkar is MI’s mentor. Former India cricketer Robin Singh is the batting coach, while former Kiwi speedster Shane Bond is the head bowling coach. Bond played eight matches for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2010, picking just nine wickets. Fellow Kiwi John Wright is one of MI’s talent scouts along with Kiran More and Pravin Amre.

Mahela Jayawardene (left) is the head coach of the four-time champions Mumbai Indians, while Shane Bond is the bowling coach.

 

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE:

Director of Cricket Operations- Mike Hesson

Head Coach- Simon Katich

Batting and Spin Bowling Coach- Sridharan Sriram

Fast Bowling Coach- Adam Griffith

Head of Scouting- Malolan Rangarajan

Strength and conditioning coach- Basu Shanker

Assistant Physiotherapist- Dhananjay Kaushik

Sports Massage Therapist- Navnita Gautam

Analyst- Sports Mechanics

Soon after the 2019 IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore appointed former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson as its Director of Cricket Operations. Hesson later announced the signing of Australia’s Simon Katich as the head coach.

Katich had a brief stint with Kings XI Punjab between 2008 and 2009, during which he played 11 games and scored 241 runs.

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He has Shanker Basu in his ranks, who was the head strength and conditioning coach of the India team. Former Tamil Nadu all-rounder Malolan Rangarajan was appointed as the head of scouting last year.

Newly-appointed head coach Simon Katich (left) poses with newly-appointed Director of Cricket Operations for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mike Hesson.

 

KINGS XI PUNJAB:

Director of cricket operations and head coach- Anil Kumble

Assistant Coach- Andy Flower

Batting Coach- Wasim Jaffer

Bowling Coach- Charl Langeveldt

Team Physio- Andrew Leipus

Fielding Coach- Jonty Rhodes

Assistant Physiotherapist- Abhijit Kar

Trainer- Adrian Le Roux

Assistant Trainer- Prabhakar B.

Masseur- Naresh Kumar

Former India and Royal Challengers Bangalore spinner Anil Kumble was appointed as the head coach of Kings XI Punjab last year. He is also the Director of Cricket Operations at the franchise and has former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower as his deputy. Kumble played 42 matches between 2008 and 2010 for RCB, picking up 45 wickets.

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India’s domestic legend and former India opener Wasim Jaffer is the batting coach of the Punjab side, while former South African cricketers Charl Langeveldt and Jonty Rhodes are the bowling and fielding coaches, respectively. Langeveldt is a former RCB and KKR player, while Jonty Rhodes spent nine years as the fielding coach of MI. 

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore's bowler Anil Kumble (in frame) is the head coach of Kings XI Punjab as has former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower as his deputy.

 

SUNRISERS HYDERABAD:

Head Coach- Trevor Bayliss

Assistant Coach- Brad Haddin

Bowling Coach-  Muttiah Muralitharan

Fielding Coach- Biju George

Mentor- V.V.S. Laxman

Physiotherapist- Theo Kapakoulakis

Physical Trainer-Mario Villavarayan

Performance Analyst- Shrinivaas Chandrasekaran

England’s World Cup winning coach Trevor Bayliss signed with the Sunrisers Hyderabad as the head coach at the end of last year's IPL. He replaced Tom Moody, who was in charge of the side for seven years and guided the team to the title in 2016.

Former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Brad Haddin was appointed Bayliss’ assistant coach last year. Both were part of Kolkata Knight Riders although their paths did not cross. Haddin was part of the franchise in 2011, while Bayliss coached the side from 2012 to 2015.

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Former India batsman V. V. S. Laxman is the team's mentor, while Sri Lanka spin great Muttiah Muralitharan is the bowling coach. He was appointed in 2015. As a player in IPL, between 2008 and 2014, Muralitharan took 63 wickets in 66 matches.

Former India batsman VVS Laxman is the team's mentor (left), while Sri Lanka spin great Muttiah Muralitharan is the team’s bowling coach.

 

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS:

Head Coach- Brendon McCullum

Assistant Coach- Abhishek Nayar

Spin Bowling Coach- Carl Crowe

Mentor- David Hussey

Fast Bowling Coach- Kyle Mills

Assistant Bowling Coach- Omkar Salvi

Fielding Coach- James Foster

Physiotherapist- Kamlesh Jain

Strength and conditioning coach- Chris Donaldson

Video and Data Analyst- A. R. Srikkanth

Former Kolkata Knight Riders opener Brendon McCullum was named head coach shortly after the 2019 edition ended. McCullum also played for Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Chennai Super Kings. In 109 matches between 2008 and 2018, he scored 2880 runs.

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KKR’s mentor is former Australian cricketer David Hussey, while Abhishek Nayar is McCullum’s deputy. Nayar featured for three teams between 2008 and 2014, scoring 672 runs in 60 matches. Former New Zealand limited-overs skipper Kyle Mills will ply his trade as the team’s fast bowling coach for the first time this year in the UAE.

Former Olympic sprinter Chris Donaldson came on board as the team's strength and conditioning coach for the upcoming season.

Former Kolkata Knight Riders opener Brendon McCullum (left) was named head coach of the franchise shortly after the culmination of the 2019 edition.

 

RAJASTHAN ROYALS:

Director of Cricket- Zubin Barucha

Head Coach- Andrew McDonald

Batting Coach- Amol Muzumdar

Spin Bowling Coach- Sairaj Bahutule

Fast Bowling Coach- Rob Cassell

Spin consultant and operations executive- Ish Sodhi

Fielding Coach- Dishant Yagnik

Fast Bowling Consultant- Steffan Jones

Youth development coach- Lisa Sthalekar

Physiotherapist- John Gloster

Assistant Physiotherapist-  Niranjan Pandit

Strength and conditioning coach- Paddy Upton

Andrew McDonald, former Australian cricketer, signed a three-year contract with the Rajasthan Royals for the role of head coach. McDonald is also Australia's senior assistant coach.

Indian domestic stalwart Amol Muzumdar is the team's batting coach. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, who spent two years (2018-19) in the RR outfit, was roped in as the spin consultant and operations executive earlier this year. He will be working with Rajasthan Royals’ spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule. Former captain of Australia women's cricket team, Lisa Sthalekar was appointed the youth development coach last year.

English pacer Steffan Jones will serve as the fast bowling consultant for the second consecutive season.

Rajasthan Royal's head coach Andrew McDonald (right) is also Australia's senior assistant coach.