IPL 2020: Kolkata Knight Riders Name James Foster As Fielding Coach

Amid the rigorous international season of cricket, one cannot think but the thirteenth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is also around the corner. The player release and retention and the auction have been done and dusted. And the franchises are plugging some holes in terms of their coaching staff. The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have named former English wicketkeeper-batsman as their fielding coach for the upcoming season.

James Foster is one of the most experienced players in English county cricket, having played over 500 games for Essex County Cricket Club.

Foster is a veteran of 289 first-class matches, accumulating 13,761 runs at an average of 36.69 apart from effecting 901 dismissals behind the stumps. In 223 List A games, he scored 3357 runs at 28.44 while in 179 T20s, he scored 2158 runs.

He also played 23 fixtures for the national team, having featured in seven Tests, eleven ODIs, and five T20 internationals. The 39-year old last played for the Three Lions against the West Indies in the ICC T20 World Cup 2009.

Foster will join Brendon McCullum, who was appointed as the head coach of the franchise in April, replacing Jacques Kallis.

The franchise took to Twitter to disclose their new fielding coach.

? ANNOUNCEMENT❗

? Welcome aboard, James Foster!! ?‍♂⚡

The former ??????? keeper has been named #KKR's fielding coach for #IPL2020 ?#KKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #Cricket @JamesFoster07 pic.twitter.com/IPiwK6yg3S

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) February 10, 2020

Kolkata Knight Riders picked some star-studded players in the auction:

Meanwhile, the two-time champions bagged some blockbuster players in the IPL auction held in December in Kolkata. The owners went relentlessly for Australian quick bowler Pat Cummins, for whom they paid INR 15.5 crores.

Their other recruits from the auction include English limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan, Tom Banton, Chris Green, Siddhesh Lad, Varun Chakravarthy, Maniraman Siddharth. Despite an underwhelming show in the last season, the franchise has decided to let Dinesh Karthik continue as captain.