Rajasthan Royals Appoint Andrew McDonald As New Head Coach
Oct 21, 2019 at 1:58 PM
Former Australian cricketer and former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowling coach Andrew McDonald has been appointed as the Head Coach of the Indian Premier League (IPL) team Rajasthan Royals (RR).
Taking up the new role, the 38-year-old Andrew McDonald is replacing the 50-year-old Paddy Upton. Upton joined as the Head Coach of Rajasthan Royals ahead of the IPL 2019. But the team badly failed in that tournament as the Rajasthan franchise finished in the seventh position in IPL 2019.
Andrew McDonald played four Tests for Australia, all in 2009. In the professional career, he played 95 first-class matches, 100 List A games and 93 T20s from 2001/02 to 2016. He was an all-rounder – right-handed batsman and right-arm pacer.
McDonald also featured in the Indian Premier League as a player. He played for Delhi Daredevils (DD) from 2009 to 2011 and for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) from 2012 to 2013. McDonald played 11 IPL games where he scored 123 runs (average 24.60) and also took 11 wickets.
Later, McDonald was also the bowling coach of RCB. Now, he is ready to take the big challenge – the Head Coach of RR.
Earlier, McDonald coached the Australian domestic cricket team Victoria and the Big Bash League (BBL) team Melbourne Renegades. In his very first year as the senior coach, Victoria won the domestic first-class tournament, Sheffield Shield. He also coached the England County cricket team Leicestershire.
It’s a great honour to take on this responsibility – Andrew McDonald
Andrew McDonald feels delightful to take up the new challenge. He is very excited to start this new role.
McDonald stated in the official Rajasthan Royals website, “I’m delighted to join the Royals family. It’s a great honour to take on this responsibility. The Rajasthan Royals is a new, exciting challenge for me, and I can’t wait to get started working with our world-class players and coaches in one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world.”
Rajasthan Royals won the inaugural IPL tournament (IPL 2008) under the leadership of Shane Warne. Since then, they have qualified for the IPL playoffs thrice (2013, 2015 and 2018) but never reached the IPL final once again.
IPL 2020 is likely to begin from April 2020. On 19th December 2019, Kolkata will host the players’ auction for the upcoming season.