Mahela Jayawardene and Zaheer Khan, who have spent years with Mumbai Indians as the head coach and Director of Cricket Operations respectively, have been assigned broader roles with the franchise now.
Jayawardene has been appointed as the franchise’s global head of performance. The new position makes the Sri Lankan responsible for overseeing the coaching and scouting at all three teams of the franchise — Mumbai Indians in the IPL, MI Emirates in ILT20 and MI Cape Town in the SA20.
Zaheer, on the other hand, has been appointed as the global head of cricket development for the three teams.
“With the expansion of MI #OneFamily which now includes MI Emirates and MI Cape Town along with Mumbai Indians, the team management recognized the need for a central team,” Mumbai Indians mentioned in a statement released on Wednesday.
“This would ensure consistency across the ‘One family of teams’, on ethos, values, and learning, that have made MI one of the most loved cricket brands across the globe. As part of building the structure, two MI veterans Mahela Jayawardene and Zaheer Khan with deep knowledge of the MI value system and proven track record, are being elevated to new roles,” the statement further added.
As per reports, Mumbai Indians are set to announce the new head coach for the IPL franchise soon as Jayawardene, who held the position since 2017, won’t be active in that role anymore. It is also learnt that Jayawardene has already started working in his new role and was part of the discussion that helped them appoint Mark Boucher as the head coach of MI Cape Town.
“It is an absolute honour for me to lead MI’s global cricket operations. Mrs. Ambani and Akash’s leadership and guidance have made MI the most valued global cricket franchise and I am very happy to see MI grow globally. I look forward to this new responsibility to build a strong cohesive global brand of cricket,” Jayawardene said.
Zaheer was also elated to take on the new role and thanked the entire management to trust him and keep faith in his work.
“I am humbled to take on this new role and thank Mrs. Nita Ambani and Akash for their faith in me. MI has been home for me as a player and as a coaching team member, and now as we embark on a new journey, I look ahead to working closely with all the stakeholders in the global network to unearth new potential that can join the family,” Zaheer said.
