Brian Lara has been appointed as the batting coach for Sunrisers Hyderabad for IPL 2022 in a boost to the backroom staff development for the franchise.
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Sunrisers Hyderabad is all set to have unprecedented star power in IPL 2022. The only twist is it might not necessarily not be on the field. According to the latest media reports, West Indies legend Brian Lara has joined Sunrisers Hyderabad as a batting consultant ahead of IPL 2022. Lara will now be part of the backroom staff that has Dale Steyn, Hemang Badani, and Simon Katich. Along with Lara, Katich has also joined Sunrisers Hyderabad as an assistant coach.
Steyn has been appointed as the bowling coach for Sunrisers Hyderabad. In addition to batting coach duties, Lara has been appointed as a strategic advisor. What the role will entail is unclear. Hemang Badani will be the fielding coach. Katich, who was the head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2021, parted ways with the franchise when the UAE leg came up. In his absence, Brad Haddin became the head coach.
Sunrisers Hyderabad decided to part ways with Trevor Bayliss after an unsuccessful stint in 2021. The 2016 champions finished last and failed to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. In Bayliss’ place, Tom Moody will be the head coach. Sunrisers Hyderabad also parted ways with David Warner, their leading run-getter and the main factor behind their 2016 title triumph. Warner was not picked in the 11 for a majority of the games in the UAE and towards the end, he was not even part of the 15-man squad.
Read | IPL 2022 retentions: Which players are likely to be retained by franchises ahead of mega-auction?
Kane Williamson will captain Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the retention, they even parted ways with Rashid Khan but are hopeful of getting him back in mega-auction. Aside from Williamson, the two other players who have been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad are Abdul Samad and Umran Malik.
Umran Malik grabbed plenty of attention when he bowled close to 95 mph in the UAE leg of the IPL, impressing all with his pace. His retention means that Sunrisers Hyderabad has something big in store for him.
This will be the first time that Brian Lara has been associated with the IPL. In the last couple of years, he has been on commentary duties. In his entire career, Lara played just three Twenty20 matches with his highest score being 65. The ‘Prince of Trinidad’ was associated with the now-defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007 where he played for the Mumbai Champs. Lara, though, is a legend in West Indies and world cricket.
In Test cricket, he scored 11953 runs at an average of 52.88. But, he is known for his scores of 375 and 400, the highest individual scores in Test cricket. Both came against England in 1994 and 2004 at the same venue in Antigua. In ODIs, Lara has scored 10405 runs with 19 centuries at an average of 40. His tally was recently overhauled by Chris Gayle.
