Hyderabad: Indian Premier League (IPL) side Rajasthan Royals on Monday announced former New Zealand pacer Shane Bond has joined the franchise in the dual role of assistant coach and also the team's new fast bowling coach ahead of next year's Indian Premier League 2024 season.
The Rajasthan Royals made the announcement through a media statement. Bond has in the past served as the bowling coach for his national team between 2012 to 2015 where he helped them reach the final of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup.
He was then employed by five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians in 2015 and contributed significantly to their success of winning four titles in nine seasons. Under his guidance, several pacers, including Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Trent Boult transformed into T20 specialists.
The 48-year-old will be reuniting with Trent Boult at the Rajasthan Royals, along with potentially working on improving the current core of pacers like Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldeep Sen, Obed McCoy, KM Asif and Kuldip Yadav.
Rajsthan Royals' Director of Cricket and former Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara said, "Shane is one of the greatest fast bowlers of modern day cricket, and brings with himself a wealth of experience and knowledge having mentored some of the best in the business. He has served in the IPL and in India for a number of years and is well versed with the processes involved within the franchise ecosystem. He is someone who has a keen eye for helping the best become even better and we are delighted to welcome him to the franchise."
Meanwhile, Shane Bond, on his part, said that he was delighted to be joining the Rajasthan Royals.
"It’s a forward thinking franchise who are determined to do well and I’m excited about being part of their vision. The bowling group is a great mix of youth and experience, and it will be awesome to work alongside them," added the former Kiwi pacer.
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