IPL 2017: 4 Indians who will be coaching in the IPL for the first time

The 10^th edition of the IPL is almost upon us and it promises to be yet another exciting 10 days of action with eight teams fighting it out for top honours during the course of the next 45 days.

Joining some new players in the mix will also be some new Indian names in the coaching setup and here we look at four such names who will be coaching in the IPL for the first time.

Mithun Manhas

A domestic veteran, Manhas will be the assistant coach for the Kings XI Punjab this season.

The former right-hander, who has earlier played for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL will now be seen in a coaching avatar with the Kings XI as they try to climb the ladder and lift their maiden title.

In his IPL career as a cricketer, Manhas played in 55 matches, spread across 7 seasons, scoring 514 runs at a strike rate of 109. Manhas could not win the IPL as a player, so hopefully, he can contribute to the team as a coach and lead them to their maiden title.

J Arun Kumar

Not often do we see a seasoned domestic coach being appointed as the coach of an IPL side.

Much of Karnataka's resurgence in the past five years has been because of JAK, as he is popularly known and the methods that he has employed in building the side.

The Kings XI Punjab in recent years have fluctuated a great deal when it comes to their performances and perhaps the winning touch of Arun Kumar could be what the team will be benefit from.

Under him, Karnataka won the Ranji Trophy on two consecutive occasions in 2015 and if he can help the Kings XI punch above their weights and play a decisive role in them winning their maiden title, then we would have surely seen a real fairytale this year.

Mohammad Kaif

The former India batsman, who was part of the Rajasthan Royals setup when they won the IPL in 2008 was appointed the assistant coach to Brad Hodge ahead of the start of the season.

The 36-year-old, who continues to play and captain Chattisgarh on the domestic circuit, will be seen in a coaching avatar for the first time in the IPL and it will be interesting to see how the fielding, an element which he specialised in during his India career, of the Lions turns out to be this year.

With the likes of Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum and others, they already possess a competent line-up and it would now be upon Kaif to elevate their levels further and ensure they save every run on the field.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, Lions owner Keshav Bansal spoke about the thinking behind picking Kaif as coach.

"Fielding is one area that we realised that we definitely need to improve and work on last season, therefore we have him. Also, he is an experienced player, so I think somewhere down the line, we have a lot of young, domestic talent and I think he will play an important role in motivating, guiding and keeping the team together. Getting Mohammad Kaif definitely adds a lot of value to our side," he said.

The Lions begin their campaign against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.

Lakshmipathy Balaji

The former India bowler, who retired from the game last year, was roped in as the bowling coach for the Knight Riders ahead of this season, last year.

Balaji was part of the Knight Riders setup which won the Leaue in 2012 and he will now look to join a select group of cricketers to have won the competition both as a player and as a coach.

He is coming into the tournament on the back of playing a similar role with the Tamil Nadu state side, who reached the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy and then won the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well as the Deodhar Trophy to finish the season on a high.

Can he then bring that same winning touch along with him to the Knight Riders as well? Gautam Gambhir will certainly hope so.