5 best overseas coaches in IPL history
While players grab most of the limelight in the glitzy Indian Premier League (IPL), coaches also play an important role in the success of the franchises. They are the behind-the-scenes unsung heroes who are involved in everything from pre-auction strategy to team planning and various other factors.
Unlike the 50-over version, Test cricket, and international cricket in general, the role of a coach in a franchise league is a lot vaster. With regulations like the ‘strategic time out’ in existence, the support staff of the IPL franchises needs to be as much on their toes as the cricketers themselves.
With the introduction of the ‘Impact Player’ from the 2023 season, the strategic involvement of coaches is only likely to increase.
Over the years, the IPL has witnessed a number of foreign coaches who have mentored franchises and molded their players into better cricketers.
In this feature, we rank the five best overseas coaches in the history of the T20 league so far.
#5 Ricky Ponting
After quitting as a player, Australian legend Ricky Ponting coached Mumbai Indians (MI) for a couple of seasons. He was the coach when MI lifted the IPL title in 2015.
Ponting was appointed Delhi Capitals (DC) coach in 2018. DC finished last season. However, Ponting has been successful in tapping the potential of a lot of youngsters in the team.
In 2019, DC reached the playoffs and went on to make their maiden final in 2020. They reached the playoffs again in 2021, when they were one of the strongest contenders to win, but failed to go all the way.
With his influential presence and motivational style (read dressing room speeches), the former Aussie skipper has played a key role in turning around DC’s IPL fortunes.
#4 Tom Moody
With plenty of experience in the field, former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody was appointed Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) coach for the first three seasons of the IPL - from 2008 to 2010. However, it was with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) that his association blossomed.
Moody was appointed SRH coach ahead of the IPL 2013 season. From 2013 to 2019, Hyderabad were one of the most consistent franchises in the T20 league. They reached the playoffs five times in seven years, even lifting their maiden crown in 2016 - a year in which their then-skipper David Warner was in supreme form with the bat.
After being replaced as a coach for the 2020 season, Moody was named SRH’s Director of Cricket ahead of the 2021 edition. However, the franchise had disintegrated significantly by then and could not make an impact.
#3 Trevor Bayliss
Trevor Bayliss will forever be remembered as the man who played a pivotal role in revolutionizing England’s white-ball cricket - the positive impact of which is being felt in their Test performances as well. It was with Bayliss as coach that England lifted the ODI World Cup for the first time in 2019, albeit by clinching the final against New Zealand in a bizarre boundary count role.
Much before his success with England, he had already won the IPL twice as a coach. Bayliss was in charge when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lifted the crown twice - in 2014 and again in 2016. Highly experienced in the role, the Australian brought in his expertise and played his part in transforming KKR’s fortunes.
Bayliss subsequently served as SRH coach during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, but with mixed success. The franchise made the playoffs in 2020 but finished last in the points table in 2021.
#2 Mahela Jayawardene
After brief coaching stints in international cricket, former Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardene replaced Ponting as MI’s head coach for the 2017 season. Jayawardene’s presence made an instant impact as Mumbai won the IPL title for the third time that year.
Under Jayawardene’s guidance, MI went on to win the crown in consecutive years in 2019 and 2020 - becoming only the second team in the competition’s history to defend the trophy.
The two triumphs also established Mumbai’s position as the most successful franchise in the history of the IPL. His bonding with players, cutting across age groups, was one of the standout features of Jayawardene’s coaching stint.
With MI owners having purchased teams in the International League T20 (ILT20) and SA20 (South Africa’s T20 league), Jayawardene has been promoted to global head of performance. His new role entails working closely with each of the head coaches to ensure the three teams play a consistent brand of cricket.
#1 Stephen Fleming
Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming’s name has been synonymous with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) since the launch of the IPL. He was part of the squad for the 2008 edition and was appointed as head coach in 2009 after retiring as a player. Fleming has been with the franchise ever since (barring the two years when Chennai were suspended).
The MS Dhoni-Fleming partnership is unarguably one of the most successful captain-coach combinations in the history of the T20 league. CSK won the IPL in 2010 as well as the Champions League Twenty20 and defended their IPL crown the following year.
After CSK returned from a two-year suspension in 2018, Dhoni and Fleming reunited to help the franchise lift the title in 2018. They won their fourth championship in 2021 and remain the second most successful franchise after MI. CSK’s success is as much the legacy of Fleming as it is of Dhoni.
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