MI Emirates rope in Shane Bond as the new head coach for the inaugural UAE International T20 League

Shane Bond (Image Source: Twitter)

MI Emirates are all set to take the stage in the first edition of the UAE International T20 League. The inaugural edition of the UAE International T20 League will get underway in early 2023. Ahead of the inaugural season, the MI Emirates management announced Shane Bond as their head coach earlier on Saturday. 

The Mumbai franchise revealed the news in a statement, in which, the management revealed that Shane Bond will take the seat of the head coach position. The New Zealand former pacer is not new to the setup as he is the current bowling coach of the Mumbai team. 

In addition to Shane Bond, Parthiv Patel will join the unit as the batting coach. Vinay Kumar, who is the scout for the Mumbai franchise, will join the MI Emirates team as the bowling coach. Robin Singh will join the team as the general manager. 

Just in: Shane Bond will be the head coach for MI Emirates, in addition to his current role as bowling coach of Mumbai Indians pic.twitter.com/eU9JaaomjG

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 17, 2022

The management would hope for the team to shine under the guidance of Shane Bond. Needless to say, the player has been with the team since 2015. Since then, the Mumbai team won the titles four times in the Indian T20 League.

It will be a tough ask for the MI Emirates team to shine in the inaugural tournament. Although Shane Bond has not been the head coach prior to this, his experience with the team might help.

It’s a privilege: Shane Bond

Shane Bond said that it was a privilege for him to work as the new head coach. He highlighted the familiarity with the team and hoped to win the title in the inaugural edition. 

“It’s a privilege to be appointed the Head Coach of MI Emirates. It’s always exciting to build a new team and I’m looking forward to furthering the Mumbai legacy and inspiring our players to take the game to new heights,” he was quoted as saying in the statement released by the Mumbai franchise. 

Aakash Ambani, the chairman of the Reliance Jio Infocomm, welcomed Shane Bond and the rest on board. He hoped for the team to shine under their guidance of Shane Bond.  

“I welcome Shane, Robin, Parthiv, Vinay and James to their new roles in MI Emirates. Having been an integral part of Mumbai for various periods of time, the coaching team is exceptionally well-versed in the values that make MI what it is. I’m sure they would be able to build MI Emirates as a team that attracts the love of passionate Mumbai fans,” Ambani said in the statement.