Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have named former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar as its head coach for the next season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
After the announcement, Bangar will take over the mantle of coaching the side from Mike Hesson.
Hesson meanwhile, will remain with the RCB franchise as Director of Cricket Operations. Hesson, the former New Zealand coach, had taken over the additional role of head coach for the recently concluded UAE leg of IPL 2021.
Bangar has played 12 Tests and 15 ODIs for India.
He had earlier been associated with coaching roles with multiple set-ups in the cash-rich league. In 2010, he was the batting coach of Kochi Tuskers before being named as the assistant coach of Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) for the 2014 IPL season.
It was under Bangar when KXIP had registered their best-ever show in the lucrative league, finshing as the 2014 season’s runners-up.
In 2021, Bangar was appointed as RCB’s batting consultant.
Commenting on the development, Prathmesh Mishra, Chairman, Royal Challengers Bangalore, in a statement said: “RCB has been committed to its philosophy of supporting and grooming talents from within the team and appointing Sanjay Bangar is the reflection of that belief. Sanjay Bangar has been part of our support staff as a batting consultant and brings a wealth of experience, both as a player and batting coach, having worked extensively with the Indian cricket team.”
“Sanjay has been chosen to be the head coach following a rigorous and robust selection procedure. We are confident that he will be able to bring his experience to the fore and maximize the potential of the squad. I congratulate Sanjay on this appointment and wish him all the best as we embark on this new chapter,” he added.
On the other hand, Bangar said it was an honor for him to work with the Bangalore-based franchise.
“It’s an honor and great opportunity to serve such a great franchise in the capacity of Head Coach. 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,” he said in a statement.
Apart from IPL, Bangar had also served the India team in different coaching roles – batting coach, assistant coach, alongside being head coach of the Indian team that toured Zimbabwe in June 2016.
RCB had finished the 2021 season at the third place and had registered nine wins from 14 games.
After making to the playoffs of the 2021 season, the Virat Kohli-led RCB went down against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Eliminator.