SunRisers Hyderabad appoint Daniel Vettori as their new head coach; Brian Lara ends 2-year association
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) have appointed former New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori as their head coach ahead of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The franchise finished at the bottom of the table for the second time in three seasons in 2023 despite overseeing a major squad overhaul.
The appointment also confirms the departure of Brian Lara from the coaching staff. The legendary West Indies batter came on board with the franchise in the 2022 season as their batting coach and strategic advisor before being promoted to head coach after Tom Moody's exit from the setup.
The franchise confirmed the change in coaching staff personnel through a set of posts on social media that read:
"Kiwi legend Daniel Vettori joins the #OrangeArmy as Head Coach. Welcome, coach!"
"As our 2 year association with Brian Lara comes to an end, we bid adieu to him. Thank you for the contributions to the Sunrisers. We wish you all the best for your future endeavours."
Daniel Vettori currently serves as the assistant and spin bowling coach of the Australian men's national team. He also had a four-year stint as Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) from 2014 to 2018, guiding the franchise to their third final in the 2016 edition.
Vettori's other coaching endeavors include a brief stint with Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise Barbados Royals and Dublin Chiefs in the Euro T20 Slam Tournament.
SRH hope for a major turnaround in fortunes with Daniel Vettori's appointment
Once regarded as one of the most consistent franchises in the tournament, the 2016 IPL champions have had a major fall from grace. The exits of David Warner, Rashid Khan, and Kane Williamson in recent years have affected the Orange Army in a huge way.
After a bottom-placed finish in the 2021 season, the franchise opted to retain Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, and Umran Malik prior to the mega-auction. With one of the biggest purses, they rebuilt a squad from scratch which includes current skipper Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Nicholas Pooran, and Rahul Tripathi.
SRH went one step further in the 2023 mini-auction by acquiring big-money signings like Harry Brook and Mayank Agarwal. However, it was evident that there was no cohesion in the setup altogether.
It was arguably highlighted when skipper Aiden Markram failed to come up with a reason for Umran Malik's absence from the playing XI during the home clash against RCB.
"Not too sure to be honest. Certainly, he's a player with the X factor, bowls at 150kph, but I don't really what's about behind the scenes," the South African said back then.
Brian Lara is currently with the West Indies team as a performance mentor and is overseeing the team's matches against India.