Gary Kirsten Highlights The Challenges Of Coaching An IPL Team

Former South African cricketer Gary Kirsten enjoyed a highly productive time as the coach of India, making them win the World Cup and leading them to the top of the Test rankings. Nevertheless, when it comes to his tenure in the IPL, it was a forgettable one. Speaking on the RK show, Gary Kirsten spoke in detail when serving as the coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

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Gary Kirsten joined the franchise as its batting consultant ahead of IPL 2018 and was promoted to the position of head coach in 2019. Kirsten succeeded Daniel Vettori in the spot but endured a tough time as Virat Kohli’s men finished last on the table. Prior to that, the South African served as the coach of Delhi Capitals too.

Kirsten underlined that it is a challenge to build and coach an IPL team that has a very diverse group of players and do it that transcends time. He stated that when taking franchises like Chennai Super Kings or Mumbai Indians into account, which have been the most successful, they have been able to build time into their program.

“Time, biggest difference (between coaching an international team and an IPL franchise). It’s very difficult to build an identity with a team, with a diverse group of players, and to build something that can transcend time. If you take the most successful franchises, what they have done well, the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings, they have been able to build time into their program,” the Cape Town born batsman stated.

The bottom line is that your job is on the line from game one: Gary Kirsten

The 52-year-old went on to say that while from one season to next, the same cultures and philosophy would apply. However, to get transferred to RCB, it required a culture shift. On the other hand, due to Bangalore’s performance history in the IPL, his job was on the line from day one.

“So, from one IPL season to the next, the same philosophies, the same cultures apply. So to shift a culture like RCB, which I think does require a culture shift, it takes time. The bottom line is that your job is on the line from game one. So, when there’s pressure on performance, you start to crisis-manage and then you are gone,” he added.

After IPL 2019, the franchise think tank sacked all the members of their coaching staff including Ashish Nehra, Vikram Solanki, and Mithun Manhas. Instead, they roped in Mike Hesson as the team director, Simon Katich as the head coach while the likes of Adam Griffith, Sridharan Sriram, and Shankar Basu also joined the franchise.

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