RCB appoints Hesson as director of cricket operations, Katich named head coach

New Delhi (PTI): Restructuring its setup, IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday appointed former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson as director of cricket operations and Australian Simon Katich as the new head coach.

The RCB said that in his new capacity, Hesson will be responsible for the the team's overall cricket operations, including defining policy, strategy, programs, scouting, performance management and bringing in the best practices in "all aspect's of the outfit's cricketing pathway".

Hesson will work closely with all the players and the coaching team and will be an integral part of the RCB team management. Former Australia batsman Katich, in his new role as head coach, will "inculcate the high-performance culture" in the team.

"RCB's purpose is to be the most trusted, respected and best performing T20 franchise and hence our constant endeavour is to create a culture of excellence and high performance for every member of the team. To deliver this ambition we are very happy to announce the appointment of Mike Hesson and Simon Katich," RCB chairman Sanjeev Churiwala said in a statement.

"We believe that Mike's extensive experience in building strong teams along with Simon's powerful cricket experience will help us create a winning culture." With the new appointments, RCB has parted ways with Gary Kirsten, coach and mentor of the team in the previous seasons, as well as bowling consultant Ashish Nehra.

"As a result of this restructuring exercise, we will be moving to a single coach model. Consequently, we would like to thank Gary Kirsten and Ashish Nehra for their contribution over the past two seasons," Churiwala said.

"They leave us with a legacy of having given several young players the confidence to show their ability on the highest stage. Everyone at Royal Challengers Bangalore wishes them all the best in the future." Hesson, who was one of the six candidates shortlisted by the BCCI for the India coach's job, narrowly lost out to incumbent Ravi Shastri in the fight for the coveted post. Hesson is not new to the IPL as he had served as the head coach of Kings XI Punjab before stepping down earlier this month. Katich had worked as an assistant coach with the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise.