Hesson, Katich join RCB

NEW DELHI: A week after missing out on being India coach, New Zealand’s Mike Hesson was on Friday appointed director of cricket at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.

Former Australia batsman Simon Katich meanwhile replaces Gary Kirsten as the head coach of the Bangalore franchise that has never won the hugely popular Twenty20 tournament. “Simon Katich as Head Coach will inculcate the high-performance culture in the team,” RCB said in a statement.

Hesson’s responsibilities will include “defining policy, strategy, programs, scouting, performance management and bringing in best practices throughout all aspects of the RCB’s cricketing pathway”, it added.

The 44-year-old Hesson, who coached the Black Caps between 2012 and 2018, narrowly missed out on the India job to Ravi Shastri who last Friday was given a two-year extension until the end of the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Kirsten and former India paceman Ashish Nehra, who was Bangalore’s bowling coach, will vacate their positions after two years in charge. “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 two seasons,” said RCB.