IPL 2022: Sunrisers Hyderabad Rope In Simon Helmot As Simon Katich's Replacement As Assistant Coach

IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad has announced a replacement for Simon Katich after his fallout with the franchise. Multiple reports say that he decided to resign as the assistant coach after he was not convinced with the strategies that the franchise had during the IPL 2022 mega auction. While it came as a shock to the franchise, they went ahead with his decision and announced his replacement.

Simon Katich’s fellow Australian Simon Helmot has been named SRH’s next assistant coach. He will be a part of the coaching group that already has names like Tom Moody, Muttiah Muralitharan, Brian Lara, and Dale Steyn. Helmot was previously a part of the Hyderabad team from 2012 to 2019.

He then had coaching stints in the BBL with Melbourne Renegades and with Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL in 2015 when they became the champions. A Hyderabad franchise official said that Katich made himself unavailable because of bio-security restrictions and family issues.

Simon Katich Steps Down As SRH’s Assistant Coach

“He would have been needed for two and a half to three months here, including for the pre-IPL camps and he felt it was too long to be inside a controlled bio-bubble. He has also mentioned about family issues and we have agreed to release him. We will be announcing a replacement soon” a franchise spokesman told Cricbuzz on Friday (February 18).

Meanwhile, Katich was associated in coaching roles with Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. However, he joined the SRH franchise after stints with the previous IPL teams.

After making it to the playoffs consistently till 2020, Sunrisers Hyderabad finished last in the points table in IPL 2021. That made the franchise owners think about changing the entire coaching staff. Katich was part of the newly formed coaching group ahead of the start of the new season. However, his stint turned out to be a short-lived one.

The franchise added 20 players in the mega auction with Nicholas Pooran being one of their highest-paid players ahead of IPL 2022. They released players like David Warner and Rashid Khan in the retention window.

Also Read: Rajvardhan Hangargekar Accused Of Committing Age-Fudging – Reports