• By Ankit Bisht
  • Mon, 23 Oct 2023 12:17 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Former New Zealand pacer Shane Bond has joined Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals as their assistant coach and also the team's new fast bowling coach ahead of the next season.

Recently, Bond ended his nine-year-long association with Mumbai Indians where he was serving in the capacity of fast bowling coach. Under his tenure from 2015 to 2023, Mumbai lifted four IPL titles. Apart from IPL, Bond also served as bowling coach for New Zealand from 2012 to 2015. He helped the Kiwis to reach the 2015 World Cup final.

"Under his (Bond) guidance, several fast bowlers, including renowned names like Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Trent Boult, and more, transformed into T20 specialists. The 48-year-old will be reuniting with the latter at the Royals, along with potentially working on improving the current core of fast bowlers which includes Prasidh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldeep Sen, Obed McCoy, KM Asif and Kuldip Yadav," Rajasthan Royals said in a release.

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Welcoming the New Zealand veteran to the franchise, Royals' Director of Cricket 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, and look forward to seeing the impact he can make towards moulding us into a title-winning team."

Meanwhile, Shane Bond expressed his first thoughts after signing with the Royals.

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"I’m delighted to be joining the 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," said Bond.

Earlier, Sri Lanka legend and former Rajasthan Royals fast bowling coach Lasith Malinga joined Mumbai Indians as Bond's replacement.