Gary Kirsten set for IPL return as Rajkot team coach

Kirsten’s experience of having worked with Rajkot players Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja during his Indian team stint is reported to be the main reason for Rajkot’s pursuit of the South African, as per the Indian Express.

Rajkot is planning to hire a coach, who has experience at the highest level, and the former India coach certainly fits the bill. After guiding India to the 2011 ICC World Cup title, Kirsten also helped South Africa regain the No.1 ranking in Tests.

However, Kirsten’s two-year stint at Delhi Daredevils was far from impressive with the team finishing near the bottom of the table both times.

Raina, Jadeja, Brendon McCullum, James Faulkner and Dwayne Bravo are the five players Rajkot picked during the player draft.

The other new team Pune is likely to go for former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) coach Stephen Fleming in a bid to rekindle the successful combination of MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming. (Read: IPL franchises not pleased about BCCI's decision to reveal player salaries)

Apart from MS Dhoni, Pune picked Ravichandran Ashwin, Faf Du Plessis, Ajinkya Rahane and Steven Smith during the draft. (Read: IPL spot-fixing: BCCI defers decision on Ajit Chandila and Hiken Shah)