Shane Bond appointed Mumbai Indians' bowling coach for IPL 2015

Shane Bond

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians have appointed Shane Bond as their bowling coach for the upcoming 2015 season of the IPL. The 39-year-old, who is currently donning the same role with New Zealand, has announced that the 2015 World Cup will be his last assignment with the Black Caps,

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) head Lindsay Crocker had expressed his disappointment about Bond quitting the post, adding that he was hopeful of him carrying on for a few more seasons.

“Make no bones about this…we’re very disappointed to be losing Shane,” Crocker said.

“He’s given great value to the Black Caps programme and we were hopeful of having the benefit of his input over the next few seasons.

“However, we respect his decision and his reasons for making that decision, and wish him well in his endeavours post-world cup,” he added.

Bond joins Ricky Ponting (head coach), Jonty Rhodes (fielding coach) and Robin Singh (batting coach) in the support staff. He himself played in the tournament in 2010, where he represented the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Commenting on his new role, Bond said that it was a privilege for him to be associated with a franchise like the Mumbai Indians and he was looking forward to his new role.

“It's’ my privilege to be associated with the most highly regarded franchise in IPL. I look forward to bringing in my cricketing experience to work along with Ricky and the team,” he said.

The right-arm pacer played 18 Tests and 82 ODIs for his country and picked up a combined tally of 234 wickets in both the formats. He also represented his country in 20 T20 internationals and picked up 25 wickets at an economy rate of 7. He was appointed as the bowling coach of New Zealand in October 2012.