IPL Newsfile
Stubbs credits big mental switch for recent success
"I figured out how to control the emotions when the pressure is on and now hopefully I can keep learning," DC big-hitter says ahead of IPL 2025
ESPNcricinfo staff
16-Mar-2025
Since a breakout IPL season with Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2024, when he hit 378 runs in 13 innings at a strike rate of over 190, Tristan Stubbs has enjoyed success across international formats and T20 leagues. During the period he had helped South Africa to the 2024 T20 World Cup final and, towards the end of last year, he scored Test hundreds against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Stubbs has attributed the recent success to a "big mental" switch.
"It was a big mental thing, I was doing some stupid - or not smart - things out in the middle, so I figured out how to control the emotions when the pressure is on and now hopefully I can keep learning and keep trying to do that in the big moments," Stubbs told reporters after linking up with DC for IPL 2025.
Stubbs, whose strike rate jumped further to 262.50 between overs 16 and 20 in the last IPL, was retained by DC for INR 10 crore (USD 1.2 million approx.) ahead of the upcoming season. Stubbs has been honing his power-hitting skills for IPL 2025.
Full postMatthew Wade joins Gujarat Titans as assistant coach
Former T20 World Cup-winner has played 12 IPL matches for the franchise, and won the BBL in January 2025
ESPNcricinfo staff
11-Mar-2025
Matthew Wade, the former Australia T20 World Cup-winning wicketkeeper-batter, has joined Gujarat Titans as an assistant coach. Wade, 37, joins the team on the back of a successful BBL campaign for Hobart Hurricanes as a player. He was at the crease when Hurricanes hit the winning runs to seal their first title less than two months ago.
Wade played 12 of his 15 IPL matches for Titans. He was part of the team for their all three seasons so far, including 2022 when they won the tournament as soon as they came into it. He has played T20 cricket all over the world, most recently in the UAE for Sharjah Warriors who made it to ILT20 playoffs in February.
With 5267 runs in 276 matches in the shortest format, Wade has been well known for his ability as both an opening batter and a finisher. His crowning moment was helping Australia pull off a heist against Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final. He retired from international cricket in October 2024.
Full postOttis Gibson takes charge as KKR assistant coach
He replaces Ryan ten Doeschate, who left along with Gautam Gambhir to take up positions with the India men's national team last year
ESPNcricinfo staff
08-Mar-2025
Ottis Gibson has been brought on board by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as their assistant coach ahead of IPL 2025. He has replaced Ryan ten Doeschate, who had been with KKR for the past few seasons, but left after IPL 2024 to be a part of Gautam Gambhir's staff with the India national men's team.
KKR, the defending IPL champions, have been forced to make a few changes to their set-up, both in the playing group as well as in the back room. Shreyas Iyer, who led the team to the title last year, was released ahead of the mega auction, and was subsequently picked by Punjab Kings and named their captain. Ajinkya Rahane has since been appointed captain for IPL 2025 by KKR, with Venkatesh Iyer named his deputy.
In the back room, with Gambhir leaving at the end of IPL 2024 to become India head coach, Dwayne Bravo has been brought in as mentor. The rest of the unit wears a familiar look, with Chandrakant Pandit as the head coach, and B Arun, Carl Crowe, Nathan Leamon and others all there.
Full postMatthew Mott joins Delhi Capitals as assistant coach
Delhi Capitals have overhauled their support staff line-up, with Hemang Badani now the head coach
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2025
Delhi Capitals (DC) have added Matthew Mott as assistant coach to their support staff line-up ahead of IPL 2025. He will assist Hemang Badani, who was announced as the new head coach in October last year. The line-up also has Venugopal Rao (director of cricket) and Munaf Patel (bowling coach), among others.
Mott has been a part of the IPL before, as assistant coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) when John Buchanan was the head coach in the first two seasons of the tournament, in 2008 and 2009.
Mott's last big-stage job was as the white-ball coach of England men's national team. He stepped down from the position in July last year, and after interim arrangements, Brendon McCullum has been put in charge of the national team in all formats.
Full postCarl Hopkinson replaces James Pamment as Mumbai Indians' fielding coach
Mitchell McClenaghan to be MI Cape Town's bowling coach in the SA20
ESPNcricinfo staff
13-Dec-2024
Ahead of IPL 2025, Mumbai Indians have appointed Englishman Carl Hopkinson as fielding coach. He replaces New Zealand's James Pamment, who was in the role for seven years.
Hopkinson, 43, was England men's fielding coach before this. He joined the set-up in 2018 and was involved in each of England's most recent victories at ICC global events: the ODI World Cup at home in 2019 and the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022. He parted ways with England last month, ahead of Brendon McCullum taking charge as the team's all-format coach.
Previously, he had also worked with England's Under-19 squad. Before his coaching career, he was a batter who played 64 first-class games, 92 List A games and 28 T20s, mostly for English county Sussex.
Full postOmkar Salvi appointed RCB bowling coach
Salvi most recently led Mumbai to their 42nd Ranji title as head coach
ESPNcricinfo staff
18-Nov-2024
Omkar Salvi has been appointed Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bowling coach ahead of IPL 2025.
Salvi, the 46-year-old former Railways cricketer, has had a hugely successful career as a coach in the Indian domestic circuit. Most recently, he was head coach at Mumbai when they won the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy for the 42nd time, but the first since 2015-16. He had earlier been the bowling coach of the team and also the assistant bowling coach at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the IPL.
"With his vast experience, especially in developing fast bowlers, and proven success at the domestic and IPL levels, he's the perfect fit for our coaching team," Mo Bobat, RCB's director of cricket, said in a statement. "Omkar's technical expertise, local knowledge and leadership will add huge value to our squad and environment."
Full postKotian replaces Zampa at Royals; Titans rope in Sharath to replace Minz
Royals head into IPL 2024 with only seven overseas players in their roster
ESPNcricinfo staff
22-Mar-2024
Mumbai spin-bowling allrounder Tanush Kotian has joined Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for Adam Zampa, while Gujarat Titans have brought in Karnataka wicketkeeper-batter BR Sharath to replace the injured Robin Minz for IPL 2024.
Zampa was retained by Royals ahead of the auction in December but pulled out of the competition due to personal reasons. He had a busy season leading in to IPL 2024 as he was part of the BBL as well as Australia's limited-overs series against India, West Indies and New Zealand since the end of the ODI World Cup in India last year.
Kotian was on the radar of several IPL franchises ahead of the 2023 auction. But after finding his name in BCCI's list of Suspect Bowling action, no one risked a bid. He is now coming on the back of an excellent Ranji Trophy, where he scored 502 runs, second-most for Mumbai, along with 29 strikes with the ball in the title-win. He also scored a century batting at No. 10 in the competition.
Full postKohli 'excited' to be back after two-month break
The India and RCB batter will be returning to competitive cricket after two months, during which he and Anushka Sharma had their second child
ESPNcricinfo staff
18-Mar-2024
Virat Kohli is "happy and excited" to be playing cricket once again after a two-month break from the game. The India and Royal Challengers Bangalore batter had arrived in Mumbai on Saturday, and has since linked up with the RCB for a short camp ahead of the team's departure to Chennai for their IPL 2024 season opener against Chennai Super Kings on March 22.
"It's really good to be back, firstly playing cricket and just starting off the IPL," Kohli told RCB TV. "It's always exciting to come back to Bangalore for the start of the IPL season. So, similar emotions, similar feelings and I haven't been off the media radar.
"I have been into the normalcy, you can say, for two months. So, yeah, I am pretty happy and excited to be back and I hope all the fans are excited and happy as well."
Full postWorld Cup hero Travis Head arrives in India for the IPL
Head, who last played in the IPL in 2016 for RCB, will play under Cummins for SRH in 2024
ESPNcricinfo staff
17-Mar-2024
Travis Head, Australia's hero in the ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad, has linked up with his Sunrisers Hyderabad team-mates and coaching staff at their home in Hyderabad, and is hoping for "a really successful season and a lot of good times".
"I am feeling good. Good to be back. Yeah, looking forward to a good season. The team looks good. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and hopefully, I can contribute some runs," he said in a video released by Sunrisers. "I have heard amazing things about the Orange Army. Looking forward to playing in front of everyone."
Head's only previous stint in the IPL came in 2016 and 2017, when he turned out for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He scored 205 runs in ten games across the two seasons, scoring at a strike rate of 138.51.
Full postShreyas Iyer links up with Kolkata Knight Riders ahead of IPL 2024
The KKR captain has been troubled by some back problems for a while now
ESPNcricinfo staff
16-Mar-2024
Shreyas Iyer missed last year's IPL and suffered some injury setbacks in the lead up to this one but all that appears to be behind him as he linked up with Kolkata Knight Riders at their home base on Saturday.
Shreyas, who is the KKR captain, has been troubled by back injury for a while now. He came back from a long-term problem in September 2023, but needed to be reassessed as recently as February, when, after the second Test against England, he told the Indian team's medical staff that he was having some discomfort when playing long innings.
Shreyas was cleared fit to play, however, India left him out of the squad for the final three Tests. He missed a Ranji Trophy league game for Mumbai and instead attended a KKR training camp but made himself available for the semi-final and final, where his team went on to win the title.
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