MI appoint Zubin Bharucha as Director of Performance: Details here
What's the story
Mumbai Indians, the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, have appointed Zubin Bharucha as their new Director of Performance. The 56-year-old former First-Class cricketer will work closely with the existing multi-disciplinary leadership group across all performance disciplines within the MI ecosystem. Bharucha's appointment comes after a disappointing season for Mumbai Indians under Hardik Pandya's captaincy, where they finished second from bottom with only four wins in 14 matches.
Career highlights
Bharucha's extensive experience in IPL
Bharucha, a former Mumbai batsman with 1,021 runs in 17 First-Class matches at 42.54, has had stints with Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals).
He served as the team director of Rajasthan Royals from 2008 to 2015 before taking on the role of Director of Cricket Operations at the same franchise from 2018 to 2026.
During his time with RR, Bharucha played a crucial role in nurturing young Indian talents like Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Strategic position
His role at MI
Bharucha will be working alongside head coach Mahela Jayawardene and his coaching staff.
His main responsibility will be to help end Mumbai Indians's IPL trophy drought.
Bharucha's wealth of experience from his previous roles at RR and DC is expected to greatly benefit MI as they look to turn their fortunes around in upcoming seasons.
Struggles
MI's misery in recent seasons
Though Mumbai Indians are one of just two teams to have won the IPL five times, their last title came back in 2020.
Since then, they have qualified for the playoffs just twice.
This dry run also includes two wooden spoons and one ninth-place finish.
Furthermore, several reports suggest that current captain Hardik Pandya is likely to part ways with the team after a turbulent three-season leadership stint that failed to meet expectations.