The Indian Premier League (IPL) that came into existence in 2008 brought along with it plenty of opportunities. It wasn’t just a platform for players but also for the support staff. The coaching staff too found opportunities with multiple teams. With every passing year, the number of coaching personnel has kept increasing.
There have been few very successful partnerships between a coach and an IPL team. Stephen Fleming and Mahela Jayawardene are clear exceptions.
We look at 5 such unsuccessful coaching stints in the IPL:
#1 John Buchanan – KKR (2009)
It had to arguably be one of the most turbulent coaching tenures of all time in IPL. John Buchanan came in with a reputation of being a World Cup-winning coach. Not many registered the fact that he had won the title with the champion Australia side of the 2000s. But KKR was done in on John’s reputation. He brought up a new model of split captaincy. KKR ended their campaign in the last spot. It is their most disastrous campaign ever.
#2 Anil Kumble – PBKS (2020 – 22)
Anil Kumble was one of the fiercest competitors in the game. He was a lion-hearted bowler who gave in his all during his playing days. Kumble led admirably too. He had a fine stint as captain with the Indian Test team as well as leading the RCB. But his coaching tenure has always remained a mixed bag.
Kumble took over as head coach of Punjab in 2020. But the Kings have finished on the bottom half of the table ever since. It was time that Punjab parted ways. They announced it today.
#3 Robin Singh – DC (2008)
The Deccan Chargers were the most fancied team post the Inaugural IPL Auctions in 2008. They had a star-studded lineup featuring the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi, and Andrew Symonds.
In the bowling department, they had the canny Chaminda Vaas lead the pack. But their campaign was an absolute cropper. They finished with a wooden spoon in the first season. Coach, Robin Singh, looked absolutely clueless throughout the season.
#4 Gary Kirsten – RCB (2019)
The biggest highlight on coach Gary Kirsten’s CV until 2022 was winning the World Cup with the Indian team in 2011. Coach Kirsten went on to win the IPL in 2022 with the Gujarat Titans. But in the period between these two achievements, his coaching tenure witnessed more misses than hits.
The lowest point was his stint with the RCB. Kirsten’s strategy and tactical nous seemed to be missing during the entire campaign. It wasn’t a surprise that RCB finished last in the points table.
#5 Sanjay Bangar – KXIP (2015)
The Kings XI Punjab had their best-ever IPL season in 2014. They made it to the finals of the tournament and were in fact the fan favourite team of the tournament. But cut to a year later, they appeared a pale shadow of themselves in 2015.
From the high of finishing second, Punjab plunged to finish eighth in the table. Punjab’s coach, Sanjay Bangar, gave the impression that he had no hold over the team. Bangar’s coaching credentials received a severe dent post this season.
