NEW DELHI: Mahela Jayawardene is back as the head coach of Mumbai Indians after serving as the franchise’s Global Head of Cricket for the last two years. When Mahela was elevated to the global role, MI appointed former South Africa cricketer Mark Boucher as the head coach in 2023 but have decided to go back to the Sri Lankan who has previously held the position from 2017 to 2022.
It is understood that the franchise wanted Mahela to focus on other teams – MI (Women’s Premier League), MI NYC (Major League Cricket) and MIE (ILT20) – during his time away from the Indian Premier League.The 47-year-old oversaw all teams and played a crucial role in setting up different backroom set-ups. While MI won a trophy each in these leagues, it was a struggling period in the IPL as they finished at bottom of the table twice in the last three seasons.
With a crucial cycle set to get underway in the cash-rich league, the five-time title winners would look to return to winning ways and owner Akash Ambani is thrilled to have Mahela back as head coach.
“We are thrilled to have Mahela back as the Head Coach of Mumbai Indians. With our global teams having found their footing within their ecosystems, the opportunity to bring him back to MI arose. His leadership, knowledge, and passion for the game have always benefited MI. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Mark Boucher for his contribution over the last two seasons. His expertise and dedication were pivotal during his time, and has now become an integral member of the MI family,” said Ambani.
The Sri Lankan legend too is very excited for the challenge ahead and wants to build on the vision of the owners.
“My journey within the MI family has always been one of evolution. In 2017, the focus was on bringing together a talented group of individuals to play the best cricket ever and we did very well. Now to return, at the same moment in history, where we look ahead at the future and the opportunity to further strengthen the love of MI, build on the vision of the owners, and continue to add to the history of Mumbai Indians, is an exciting challenge I am looking forward to,” said Jayawardene.
The first challenge for Mahela is going to be finalising the retentions before the October 31 deadline. There is no dearth of star power in the MI dugout and the five retentions + one Right To Match (RTM) gives them a fair shot at retaining their core players.
As TOI.com had written earlier this month, the retention rules for the 2025-27 cycles are very much in favour of the IPL giants as they get to retain the likes of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav, and the players would be happy with the price tag too.
More movement has already begun in the MI backroom staff and, as TOI had reported this morning, former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey is set to join the franchise as their bowling coach. They already have Lasith Malinga who is likely to continue as the bowling mentor.
