IPL 2020 News: Andrew McDonald replaces Paddy Upton as head coach of Rajasthan Royals

Former Australia cricket player Andrew McDonald has been roped in as the head coach of Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals for the next three years.

McDonald was previously associated with Delhi Daredevils in the IPL in 2009 and 2011 as a player, and was also signed up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2012 and 2013. He has also been the bowling coach of RCB previously in 2018.

McDonald will take over from Paddy Upton, who was the previous head coach of Rajasthan Royals.

Paddy Upton

Although just 38 years old, McDonald has a strong CV as coach. He led Victoria to the one-day and the Sheffield Shield titles, in addition to guiding Melbourne Renegades to their maiden Big Bash League title.

McDonald was named as the head coach of The Hundred team Birmingham Phoenix in June earlier this year. He also has experience coaching a county side, having led Leicestershire in the past.

Andrew McDonald in the Big Bash League

The Aussie played 11 games in his IPL career, scoring just 123 runs, but he picked up 11 wickets to go with that. He also turned out for Renegades and the Sydney Thunder in the BBL, scoring 230 runs in addition to picking up five wickets in 13 matches.

Andrew McDonald visited the #RoyalsFamily & had some fun on his 1⃣st day with us. 😍#HallaBol pic.twitter.com/EulUjDfkU8

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) October 21, 2019

Zubin Bharucha, the head of cricket of Rajasthan, was effusive while welcoming McDonald into the franchise. "Andrew's innovative, forward-thinking nature, along with his experience in the IPL and success in other leagues is why we have selected him as head coach to help us drive long term success," Bharucha said. "He is data-focused and an impressive man manager who remains well-versed with the rigours of modern day cricket."

McDonald too seems thrilled to be a part of the set-up. "The Rajasthan Royals is a new, exciting challenge for me, and I can't wait to get started working with our world-class players and coaches in one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world," he said.

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