Mark Boucher to join IPL as wicket keeping coach for KKR

One of the best wicket-keeper batsman of all the time, South Africa’s Mark Boucher is set to be a part of the current season of the Indian Premier League.

The 39-year old who had a stellar career behind the stumps in his time has 998 dismissals to his name before he was forced to retire from competitive cricket in 2012 after suffering a blow to the eye in a warm-up game.

Making his debut against Pakistan before the turn of the century, in his prime, Mark Boucher was one of the fiercest batsmen in the world and one of the best finishers in the limited over format.

And now sports website Cricbuzz have reported that the South African international will be a part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for the rest of the season.

Boucher has already played in the IPL for two different franchises.

After a superb run with the Royal Challenger’s Bangalore in the second edition of the tournament where he finished as runners-up, Boucher moved onto the Bengal outfit in 2011 but did not have a great season.

However, with KKR having just one wicket-keeper in Sheldon Jackson as a back-up for star player Robin Uthappa, Boucher will be more than useful for the franchise as he can help the fringe players move into the first team.

Boucher should not take any time to settle into his role as a wicket-keeping coach as he will work alongside his team-mate and a very good friend Jacques Kallis.

Kallis and Boucher were the pillars of the South African middle-order for a year or two and duo have a good relationship on and off the field.

This will also help the KKR outfit immensely in their race for their third IPL trophy.

The experience and the amount of knowledge Boucher will get to the team can easily be the difference between winning and losing tight games.

But for now, it will be good to see the 39-year old come back to cricket after a break.

The Knight Riders are currently 2^nd in the points table after the recent victory over the Kings XI Punjab and will hope that they can go all the way this season.