Shane Bond appointed head coach of MI Emirates in ILT20 league, Parthiv Patel and Vinay Kumar named batting and bowling coaches

MI Emirates have appointed a star-studded coaching panel for the inaugural edition of the ILT20 League. New Zealand great Shane Bond has been named as their head coach.

Taking to Twitter, MI Emirates wrote:

“We are buzzing to announce our head coach from New Zealand, Shane Bond.”

Shane Bond has served as the bowling coach for the five-time champions Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) since 2015.

The Kiwi comes with a wealth of experience under his belt. He also served as the bowling coach of New Zealand cricket from 2012 to 2015 and worked with the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League in 2015.

The 47-year-old was also appointed head coach of the Sydney Thunder in BBL 2018.

In an official press release, Bond said:

"It’s a privilege to be appointed the Head Coach of MI Emirates. It’s always exciting to build a new team and I’m looking forward to furthering the MI legacy and inspiring our players to take the game to new heights.”

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Parthiv Patel and Vinay Kumar to work with Shane Bond for MI Emirates in ILT20

Former Indian cricketers Parthiv Patel and Vinay Kumar will make their debut as batting and bowling coaches for MI Emirates, respectively.

Patel comes with a wealth of experience playing in the IPL and has previously worked as a talent scout for the Mumbai Indians. The 37-year-old has also won the IPL title twice with MI (2015 and 2017).

Vinay Kumar, too, has played over 100 matches in the IPL and represented India in 41 games across formats.

Meanwhile, James Franklin will serve as the fielding coach of MI Emirates, while former Indian cricketer Robin Singh will take charge as the team's general manager in the UAE.

Earlier, MI elevated Mahela Jayawardena and Zaheer Khan's roles. While Jayawardena was appointed as the "Global Head of Performance", Zaheer was named the "Global Head of Cricket Development".

The duo have previously served as head coach and bowling coach of the Mumbai Indians, respectively.

MI now have MI Cape Town (South Africa) and MI Emirates as overseas teams alongside the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

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MI Emirates signings: Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, Andre Fletcher, Imran Tahir, Samit Patel, Will Smeed, Jordan Thompson, Najibullah Zadran, Zahir Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bradley Wheal, and Bas De Leede.

The inaugural edition of the ILT20 league will kick off in January 2023.