Cricket South Africa appoints Imraan Khan as the batting lead

Cricket South Africa has appointed a new batting lead. Former Test player of the team Imraan Khan will be taking over the role in the team and will be taking over the charge from the upcoming Test series against the West Indies National Cricket Team.

Imraan Khan is already in the West Indies with the Test team and will be working under head coach Shukri Conrad. The former Test captain of the team will be replacing Ashwell Prince as the batting coach of the team before assuming a more overarching role at CSA. Prince was notably unavailable for personal reasons.

Imraan Khan has been the coach of the Dolphins for the last five years. He has done a tremendous job for the team. Under him, the team won two four-day series titles - in 2020/21 and 2022/23. The team also shared a one-day cup in the 2020/21 season and also won three CSA T20 Challenge finals.

Imraan Khan is credited for producing players in Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Ottneil Baartman, and Keshav Maharaj. He has spent his career at the Durban-based union and played for 15 years there, making vital contributions to the team and playing famous knocks.

Imraan Khan was a quality batter during his playing days. He played 161 first-class games and scored 9,367 runs, including 20 centuries, and averaged 36.58. He played just one Test for South Africa, which came in 2009 against Australia.

He opened the innings going with Ashwell Prince for the South Africa National Cricket Team. The batter also featured in 121 List A matches and 51 T20s. His playing experience, along with his coaching prowess, will be a great use for the Proteas team going ahead.

West Indies will be hosting South Africa National Cricket Team in the two-match Test series. The first game will be played on 7th August followed by the second match of the series to be played on 15th August. After that, the two teams will be locking horns with each other in the three-match T20I series.

This is an exciting step in my path as a coach - Imraan Khan on being appointed as South Africa's batting lead

Imraan Khan talked about his appointment as the South Africa batting lead. He highlighted his journey and said that it's an exciting step in his career as a coach. He also thanked everyone at KZN Cricket Union for their support. He explained:

"I want to thank the KZN Cricket Union for all their support. It's been an incredible journey, and I've loved starting my coaching career at the union that has been my home for many seasons. This is an exciting step in my path as a coach, but Kingsmead will always be home, and I will miss everyone here," Imraan Khan said in an official statement.

The Dolphins will be soon announcing the replacement for the team. The domestic season will begin with the T20 competition in late September.