Former India head coach Gary Kirsten is likely to return to the Indian Premier League (IPL), as Team Rajkot is keen on getting him on board for the next two editions of the cash-rich tournament.
Kirsten recently parted ways with Delhi Dardevils, who could not taste much success under his guidance. But his stint with Team India and the Proteas have been impressive.
We are all aware of the fact that Kirsten lead Team India to ICC World Cup 2011 triumph and South Africa regained the no.1 Test ranking under his able guidance. The Proteas went on to win Test series in Australia, England and New Zealand when Kirsten was at the helm of the team affairs for South Africa.
A source close to the development said that the players who have been picked up in the IPL draft were told that they will get Kirsten on board in all possibilities.
Kirsten has previously worked with the likes of Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja while coaching Team India. He will have three more talented cricketers other than Raina and Jadeja in the form of Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Bravo and James Faulkner.
These were the players who were roped in by Team Rajkot during the IPL draft that happened earlier this month. The remaining players will have to be picked up in the IPL 2016 auction that will be held on 6 February in Bangalore. They have to compete with the big boys of the IPL in order to rope in their desired choices.
Team Pune, on the other hand, are reportedly in talks with former Chennai Super Kings gaffer Stephen Fleming. If Fleming joins Team Pune, then he will be able to re-kindle the equation he used to share with MS Dhoni. The former Chennai Super Kings skipper was the first player to be picked in the IPL draft by Team Pune earlier this month from a pool of 50 players.
