RCB appoints Simon Katich as head coach, Mike Hesson as director of cricket

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Friday appointed Simon Katich as head coach and Mike Hesson as director of cricket.

As the director of cricket, Mike Hesson will be responsible for the overall RCB cricket operations including defining policy, strategy, programs, scouting, performance management and bringing in best practices throughout all aspects of the RCB's cricketing pathway. He will work closely with the players and the coaching team and will be a part of RCB Management team. This is a new position created within the franchise.

Hesson brings the strong cricketing experience of being head coach & mentor to the New Zealand team with a focus on T20 and has earned an international reputation of a leader who achieves results without sacrificing on culture.

Hesson was also shortlisted for the post of Indian head coach and was interviewed by the three-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC).

Sanjeev Churiwala, Chairman, RCB, said in a press release: "RCB's purpose is to be the most trusted, respected and best performing T20 Franchise and hence our constant endeavour is to create a culture of excellence and high performance for every member of the team. To deliver this ambition we are very happy to announce the appointment of Mike Hesson and Simon Katich. We believe that Mike's extensive experience in building strong teams along with Simon's powerful cricket experience will help us create a winning culture."

RCB brought down batting coach Gary Kirsten and bowling coach Ashish Nehra as the team is heading towards single coach model.

"As a result of this restructuring exercise, we will be moving to a single coach model. Consequently, we would like to thank Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra for their contribution over the past 2 seasons. They leave us with a legacy of having given several young players the confidence to show their ability on the highest stage. Everyone at Royal Challengers Bangalore wishes them all the best in the future", Sanjeev added.

In the 2019 IPL season, RCB finished at the bottom of the points table with 11 points as they only won five matches out of their 14 games.