After Simon Katich quit before the second leg of the Indian Premier League last year, Mike Hesson, the former New Zealand coach had overtaken the responsibility of the head coach. But the franchise has decided to upgrade their batting consultant Sanjay Bangar to the position of the head coach right before the mega auction of the cash-rich league.
Hesson will continue in his original role as director of cricket operations. Bangar, who has been previously associated with Team India as batting coach between the years 2014-2019, also has under his belt the experience of coaching IPL sides.
The 49-year-old was the head coach of the Kings XI Punjab from 2014 till December 2016. A domestic cricket legend and one of the few players to open both batting and bowling for their sides, the Railways man could play only 12 Tests and 15 ODIs between 2001 and 2004 for India. He was also part of the Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders franchises in the 2008 and 2009 editions of the IPL.
Speaking on his appointment, Bangar said, "I have worked with some exceptional and talented members in the squad and can't wait to take this team to the next level. There's a lot of work that needs to be done with the IPL mega auctions and the season following it, but I'm sure that together with the continued support of the management and the support staff, we can deliver the goods and bring cheer to our fans across the globe.”
Come the 2022 IPL mega auctions RCB have a lot of important calls to make, starting from choosing their captain after Virat Kohli’s resignation from the role and figuring their new core with players like AB de Villiers set to retire in the next couple of years.