Ranking all 10 coaching setups for IPL 2024
IPL 2024 will start in 10 days. Ahead of the new season, all teams have begun their respective training sessions. The videos and pictures from the camps of every IPL franchise have taken over social media.
Like every IPL season, the franchises have enormous star power not just in their squads but also their coaching groups. Almost every team has a reputed name as head coach, mentor, batting coach, bowling coach and fielding coach.
In this listicle, we shall rank the 10 coaching setups for IPL 2024 before the new season starts.
#10 Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians (MI) have Mark Boucher as their head coach. Boucher raised many eyebrows with his decision to appoint Hardik Pandya as MI's new skipper. Some players of the MI dressing room, including Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, aren't too pleased with this decision.
MI were known to have a family atmopshere, but ahead of IPL 2024, it seems like the decision to change the captain in such a manner has impacted the dressing room negatively. The coach's interview after the captaincy change received the above-mentioned comment from Rohit's wife Ritika Sajdeh.
Even the team's other coaches Kieron Pollard and Lasith Malinga are new to this profession. Overall, MI have one of the strongest squads this season, but the coaching setup will have to do better to ensure the players perform to their full potential.
#9 Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have also entrusted a new coach with the responsibility of guiding the team. Daniel Vettori is the new head coach, and his decision to name Pat Cummins as the captain has already raised many eyebrows.
Cummins does not lead Australia in T20Is, while SRH's previous captain Aiden Markram led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the SA20 title earlier this year. SRH's other coaches include Simon Helmot, Hemang Badani, Muttiah Muralitharan, and James Franklin.
Dale Steyn's absence as fast-bowling coach will hurt the team a lot. His replacement Franklin does not have much experience of IPL coaching before.
#8 Royal Challengers Bangalore
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) changed the majority of their coaching staff before IPL 2024. They roped in Andy Flower as their new head coach, while Mo Bobat joined as Director of Cricket. Sridharan Sriram, Adam Griffith and Malolan Rangarajan are the other coaches.
While Flower guided Lucknow Super Giants to back-to-back top-4 finishes in IPL 2022 and 2023, his auction strategy seemed questionable when he signed bowlers for RCB. Only time will tell how much this new coaching setup helps RCB in IPL 2024.
#7 Lucknow Super Giants
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) named Justin Langer as their new skipper after the departure of Andy Flower. Langer has been Australia's head coach in the past, but he lost the position in an unceremonious manner.
Even Gautam Gambhir has left the LSG dressing room. Pravin Tambe, Morne Morkel, Lance Klusener, and Jonty Rhodes are the other coaching staff members of Lucknow. If the LSG squad gets adjusted to Langer's coaching style quickly, the team will be successful, otherwise, it could be a disappointing season for them.
#6 Punjab Kings
Punjab Kings (PBKS) retained Trevor Bayliss as their head coach. The rest of the coaching setup is also pretty much the same, which is a positive sign, considering PBKS often change their backroom staff frequently.
With Charl Langeveldt, Brad Haddin, Wasim Jaffer, Sunil Joshi, and Trevor Gonsalves also in the staff, the coaching staff has a decent amount of experience. PBKS will aim to win their maiden championship this season.
#5 Rajasthan Royals
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have retained Kumar Sangakkara as their Director of Cricket. He has done a phenomenal job in this role in the last few seasons.
There have been a few changes in RR's coaching setup, with Shane Bond replacing Lasith Malinga as the bowling coach. Trevor Penney, Lisa Keightley, Siddhartha Lahiri, and Dishant Yagnik are quite underrated, but as a unit, they can do a great job for RR in IPL 2024.
#4 Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals (DC) have a dream combination of Ricky Ponting and Sourav Ganguly in their coaching setup. The absence of Rishabh Pant derailed DC's campaign in IPL 2023, but the wicketkeeper-batter is back for IPL 2024.
Plus, the presence of support coaches like Pravin Amre, James Hopes and Biju George will benefit the DC players a lot. On paper, DC have one of the strongest coaching setups this season.
#3 Kolkata Knight Riders
The return of master strategist Gautam Gambhir as mentor will benefit the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024. Chandrakant Pandit, who has achieved enormous success in domestic cricket as a coach, will continue to be the head of the KKR coaching setup.
Other names in the coaching setup include Ryan ten Doeschate, Abhishek Nayar, James Foster, Bharat Arun, and Omkar Salvi. These coaches have a ton of experience under their belt and should make a huge difference to KKR's campaign in IPL 2024.
#2 Chennai Super Kings
Defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have retained Stephen Fleming as their head coach once again. Michael Hussey is the team's batting coach, while Dwayne Bravo continues to be the bowling coach.
Fleming has played a major role in CSK's success in the IPL. He has proved himself as a great tactician, and the presence of MS Dhoni as the captain makes CSK one of the most dangerous teams this season.
#1 Gujarat Titans
When Gujarat Titans (GT) formed their first-ever squad in IPL 2022, the majority of fans expected them to finish in the bottom half of the standings. However, GT went on to lift the championship despite having Hardik Pandya as captain, who had never captained in a major tournament before.
GT made it to the final last year as well, where they finished runners-up. Despite having a weaker squad on paper as compared to other teams, GT have been quite successful in their two seasons.
The biggest reason behind the team's success is the coaching setup featuring Ashish Nehra, Vikram Solanki, Gary Kirsten, Aashish Kapoor, Mithun Manhas, Naeem Amin, and Narender Negi. Almost every player of GT heaped praise on their coaching style and management in the last two seasons, showing why they have been so successful.
The Nehra-led coaching setup will face another stern challenge in IPL 2024 as they gear up to play their first season without Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami. Young Shubman Gill will make his captaincy debut for GT this season.