Mumbai ropes Mark Boucher as head coach for the 2023 Indian T20 League

Former South Africa wicketkeeper batter Mark Boucher will join the Mumbai franchise as their head coach in the 2023 Indian T20 League. He recently announced that he won't be continuing as the head coach of the national setup after the 20-20 World Cup 2022. The decision was announced after the Proteas lost a three-match Test series against England by 2-1.

After Boucher's decision, Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Pholetsi Moseki revealed that the former wicketkeeper batter was looking to pursue other opportunities. Earlier, it was rumored that the right-hander would be part of the MI Cape Town franchise's coaching staff. However, the franchise roped in Simon Katich and Hashim Amla in the leading coaching roles. Notably, MI Cape Town and Mumbai franchise is owned by the same group.

Meanwhile, after Boucher wasn't appointed by the Cape Town team, it was clear that he would be signed by the five-time Indian T20 League winners. The franchise announced the development on Twitter.

Presenting आपले नवीन Head Coach - 𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑 💙

Paltan, drop a 🙌 to welcome the 🇿🇦 legend to our #OneFamily 👏#DilKholKe #MumbaiIndians @markb46 @OfficialCSA pic.twitter.com/S6zarGJmNM

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) September 16, 2022

Mark Boucher to replace Mahela Jayawardene

The 45-year--old has replaced Mahela Jayawardene, who was the head coach of the team in the last few years. The former Sri Lanka skipper, Jayawardene has been part of the coaching setup since 2017. The Blue Brigade won its third Indian T20 League title that year. Under Mahela, the team also won back-to-back titles in seasons 2019 and 2020. In the last couple of seasons, the team hasn't been able to qualify for the playoffs.

In 2021, they finished fifth while this year, they finished last for the first time in the history of the tournament. Now, the Sri Lankan has been promoted and is now Global Head of Performance. On the other hand, Zaheer Khan, who was the director of cricket in the team, has been promoted to Global Head of Cricket Development. The franchise will have high hopes from the Protean who has done a decent job under him. Last year, South Africa did well in the 20-20 World Cup although they missed out on the semi-final spot due to inferior Net Run Rate (NRR).