RCB sack coach Daniel Vettori and other staff

IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore have sacked head coach Daniel Vettori along with other backroom staff with an intention to create a new set-up which is dictated by the team’s captain Virat Kohli.

These drastic changes are a result of RCB’s poor performance in IPL in the recent years. In 2017, the Kohli-led franchise finished at number six position in the points table despite having some of the biggest names in T20 cricket such as AB de Villiers.

Infact RCB is going through a rough phase since the last few years and hence these sackings don’t come up as a surprise. The year before this, RCB finished at the bottom of the points table. Along with Daniel Vettori, batting coach Trent Woodhill and bowling coach Andrew McDonald have also been sacked.

However, Ashish Nehra, the team’s bowling mentor has been retained. It is believed that Nehra enjoys Kohli’s confidence and hence is still retained by the team.

Interestingly, this move by RCB came just one day after their twitter handle posted a picture of Vettori.

700+ International wickets, close to 7000 International runs and considered as one of the greatest left-arm spinners ever. Our coach, Daniel Vettori can still roll his arms over. ? #PlayBold pic.twitter.com/f5793NxahF

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) August 23, 2018

Daniel Vettori played for RCB from 2008 to 2012 before taking up the role of team’s coach. The New Zealand player is regarded as one of the smartest left-arm spinners in the game especially in the shorter format as his ability to bowl slow in the air made him difficult to hit. Plus he could gain considerable drift and was highly accurate. These traits made him a very economical bowler, a fact which is reflected in his economy rate of 6.78 in IPL.

However, his stint as the coach was a disappointing one as he failed to bring balance in RCB’s team. Unclear and bizarre decisions at the auction didn’t help his cause and Vettori failed to build a rapport with skipper Kohli.

With the sacking of Vettori, the next question RCB have to answer is about his successor. At the moment, Gary Kirsten and Sanjay Bangar are speculated to be options but it is sure that Kohli’s opinion will play the most important role in the selection process.