Former Indian coach Gary Kirsten has been appointed as the head coach and mentor of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Kirsten, who was already serving the team as the team's batting coach, has replaced Daniel Vettori for the position.
Reflecting on the appointment, RCB chairman Sanjeev Churiwala said that the former South African player has proved his abilities during the last IPL season and further believed that he would bring a fresh perspective to the team.
"During the last IPL season, Gary has proved to be a brilliant mentor to both seasoned and young RCB players and we are confident that he will bring a fresh perspective to the team," ESPNcricinfo.com quoted Churiwala, as saying.
Kirsten, who guided the Indian team to World Cup glory in 2011, has also coached another IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils (DD) in the year 2014 and 2015.
RCB have never won the IPL title despite having some of the best players of T20 cricket including Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. During the last season, the team failed to make it to the playoff round as they finished sixth on the points table.