MUMBAI: The Mumbai Indians ownership has elevated Mahela Jayawardene and Zaheer Khan to take on new roles with the aim to build a global cricket legacy for MI.
With the expansion of MI #OneFamily which now includes MI Emirates and MI Cape Town along with Mumbai Indians, the team management recognized the need for a central team. This would ensure consistency across the ‘One family of teams’, on “ethos, values, and learning”. As part of building the structure, two MI veterans Jayawardene and Khan with deep knowledge of the MI value system and proven track record, are respectively being elevated to Global head of Performance and Global head of Cricket Development.
As the Global head of Performance, MI, Jayawardene’s mandate is to provide senior leadership of the group’s cricket operations worldwide, including overall strategic planning, the creation of an integrated global high-performance eco-system, as well as responsibility for each team’s coaching and support structures, working closely with the team head coaches to ensure synergies, a consistent brand of cricket, and implementation of best practices set by MI.
Khan, the new Global head of Cricket Development, MI, will be responsible for player development, building on MI’s program around talent identification and grooming and adopting the same across geographies. Each geography comes with its unique set of challenges and Zaheer’s elevated role will play an important role helping MI teams across the globe.
Akash Ambani, chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm and MI owner, said: “I’m happy to have Mahela and Zak as part of our global core team. Both have been an integral part of the MI family and embody the spirit of the cricket MI stands for. I’m confident that they would be able to ensure the same flows through all our teams globally and make a difference in the cricketing ecosystems across the globe.”
Terming the his elevation “an absolute honour”, Jayawardene said, “I look forward to this new responsibility to build a strong cohesive global brand of cricket.”
Khan added, “MI has been home for me as a player and as a coaching team member, and now as we embark on a new journey, I look ahead to working closely with all the stakeholders in the global network to unearth new potential that can join the family.”
The ILT20 and the SA20 will both have their inaugural seasons in January-February next year. The owners felt that the changed circumstances needed one person in charge of the coaching arm globally, a role that best suited Jayawardene because of his extensive experience as an international player and captain, as well as a coach in franchise T20 cricket.
