Cricket South Africa appoints Imraan Khan as new batting lead

Imraan Khan, who played just one Test match for South Africa in 2009, has been appointed as the new batting coach for the series against West Indies. Ashwell Prince, who was in charge of the team has stepped aside due to personal reasons and has not travelled with the team. Imraan meanwhile has joined the coaching unit, led by Shukri Conrad and will assume a more overarching role at CSA after the series.

Imraan was previously in charge of Dolphins, where he spent the last five years. Under his guidance, the Dolphins have won two four-day series titles, shared the one-day cup in the 2020-21 season and won three CSA T20 challenge titles. In the last few years, the team has provided several players to the national team, most renownedly Keegan Petersen, Ottneil Baartman and Keshav Maharaj. 

The former cricketer has featured in 161 First Class matches and scored 9367 runs at an average of 36.58. He has also played 121 List A matches and 51 T20s in his career but made the most of his opportunities in red-ball cricket. 

Also Read - West Indies unveil 15-member squad for South Africa Tests, Kemar Roach returns

After joining the national team, Imraan thanked the KwaZulu-Natal Inland (KZN) Cricket Union for their support throughout the last few years and stated that Kingsmead will always be his home, where he played for 15 years before taking up the coaching role.

“I want to thank the KZN Cricket Union for all their support. It's been an incredible journey, and I've loved starting my coaching career at the union that has been my home for many seasons. This is an exciting step in my path as a coach, but Kingsmead will always be home, and I will miss everyone here,” Imraan said in a statement.

South Africa’s two-match Test series against West Indies will begin on August 7. The first match will be played in Trinidad and the second one in Guyana. A three-match T20I series will be played after the Tests.