Zaheer Khan, Mahela Jayawardene handed new roles as members of Mumbai Indians’ ‘central team’

Zaheer and Jayawardene, currently Director of Cricket Operations and head coach, respectively, at Mumbai Indians, will now also serve in a different capacity as members of a ‘central team’ to ensure consistency across MI’s three T20I teams.

Zaheer Khan (left) is the current Director of Cricket Operations with Mumbai Indians, while Mahela Jayawardene (right) is the head coach. | Photo Credit: MUMBAI INDIANS

Zaheer Khan and Mahela Jayawardene have been handed new roles by Mumbai Indians as members of a ‘central team’ for consistency across the group’s three T20I teams — Mumbai Indians, MI Emirates (of the International T20 League), and MI Cape Town (of SA20).

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“A central team would ensure consistency across the ‘One family of teams’, on ethos, values, and learning,” Mumbai Indians stated in a communique.

Zaheer, currently the IPL Director of Cricket Operations, will now also serve as the Global Head of Cricket Development at Mumbai Indians. He will oversee “player development, building on MI’s robust programme around talent identification and grooming and adopting the same across geographies.”

Jayawardene, currently the head coach, has been appointed as the Global Head of Performance. His job will be to provide “senior leadership of the group’s cricket operations worldwide, including overall strategic planning, the creation of an integrated global high-performance ecosystem, as well as responsibility for each team’s coaching and support structures, working closely with the team head coaches to ensure synergies, a consistent brand of cricket, and implementation of best practices set by MI.”