Ranking top 10 IPL coaches of all time

Stephen Fleming. (Photo Source: Twitter) Like in international cricket, even in the IPL coaches play a silent but crucial role. To get the strategies and game plans right, a smart and shrewd coach is definitely a requirement. It would not be wrong to say that a clinical head coach can really set things right for a franchise. If we look at the IPL history, successful teams such as MI and CSK have had only a few coach changes over the years while teams such as PBKS or RCB have had different coaches for different seasons. Such changes in the role prevent the captains and the team players to establish a strong relationship and camaraderie with the team coach. Along with the coach’s strategies, his behaviour and his attitude towards the team also matters. Thus, a friendly coach who can be strict when needed would be an ideal candidate. In the article, let’s rank the top 10 IPL coaches of all time: 10) Mike Hesson Mike Hesson. (Photo Source: YouTube) Mike Hesson gained recognition when he was the coach of New Zealand’s national team for almost 6 years. At the end of his tenure, he was called one of the most successful coaches of the country as he helped them reach the 2015 World Cup final and several other Test series wins. He is a calm character who manages the team resources very well. In the IPL, he started his coaching journey with the struggling Punjab Kings in 2019. Teaming up with skipper Ravi Ashwin, Hesson and Punjab had a flying start to the tournament, winning 5 out of the first 6 matches. However, the team ran out of steam in the latter half of the league and did not qualify for the playoffs. In the very next season, Hesson was recruited by the Royal Challengers Bangalore as the Director of Cricket. In a role that included more than just coaching, Hesson did a wonderful job, guiding RCB to the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Even in the 2021 season, RCB looked strong and were expected to reach the playoffs. Thus, Hesson has had more success in lesser time and features in this list. 9. Jacques Kallis Jacques Kallis. (Photo by Carl Fourie/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Jacques Kallis is a legendary figure for South Africa. He is the country’s best all-rounder and also among the best in the world. Having played 166 Test matches and 328 ODIs, Kallis has immense experience and knowledge about the game. Kallis has also played the IPL for 2 franchises over several years and thus possesses enough experience to guide an IPL franchise. Kallis was appointed as coach for the first time in 2015 by Kolkata Knight Riders after serving as the team’s batting consultant in the 2015 season. He was associated with the franchise for 3 years thereafter. Kallis’ valuable contribution worked well for the Riders. During his tenure, although KKR could not clinch the title, they reached the playoffs every season except in 2019. Kallis thus did a reasonable job as the team’s coach and ranks 9th on this list. 8) Daniel Vettori Daniel Vettori. (Photo Source: Twitter) The Kiwi was a successful spinner and captain for his country’s national side. Daniel Vettori led the side for many years in his international career in several formats. He also played the IPL for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and was the skipper there too. All of this means that Vettori is well versed in the leadership role and could make a good coach too. Having been with the Bangalore side for many seasons, Vettori was appointed as the head coach by the franchise in 2014. He had a rocky start as RCB missed out on reaching the playoffs narrowly in 2014. The next 2 seasons brought immense success both for RCB and Vettori as they qualified for the playoffs in 2015 and reached the final in 2016. However, the following 2 seasons turned out to be dreadful as RCB were the wooden spoon holders in 2017 winning only 3 games out of 14 and did not qualify in 2018 too. Vettori’s coaching stint thus ebbed and flowed over the years ranking him 8th on this list. 7) Paddy Upton Paddy Upton. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) South African by birth, Paddy Upton is a professional cricket and mental coach by qualification. Upton cut his playing career short and started his coaching career as the strength and conditioning coach of the South African cricket team and then became a full-time coach for several international and franchise cricket teams over the years. When Gary Kirsten was appointed as India’s head coach in 2008, he recommended the appointment of Upton in the dual role of Mental Conditioning coach and Strategic Leadership Coach. The duo did a wonderful job and guided India to the top of the Test rankings and also to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 title. In the IPL, he coached the Pune Warriors in the 2012 season and moved to the Rajasthan Royals in the next season where he stayed for 3 years. He had a successful stint there as he led the struggling Royals to the IPL playoffs and Champions League finals in 2013. The Royals were also unbeaten at their home ground, Sawai Mansingh stadium for 13 straight games during Upton’s tenure. He was also the Delhi Capitals’ coach for 2 seasons of 2016 and 2017 where he did quite a decent job. Upton has not coached in the IPL after 2017 but ranks 7th on this list owing to his successful stints before that. 6) John Wright John Wright. (Photo by Martin Hunter/Getty Images) New Zealanders seem to make successful coaches, don’t they? We have yet another Kiwi on this list. John Wright was a former New Zealand batsman and captain who did a tremendous job. After coaching a county side, his international coaching journey started with India in 2000. During his tenure of 5 years, several path-breaking victories came India’s way, reaching the World Cup final in 2003 and drawing the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2003-04 being the major ones. Seeing his successful stints in the international career, Wright was recruited by the Mumbai Indians in 2013 to crack the code for winning the title. This decision brought immediate results as MI won the 2013 edition itself. He also coached MI in 2014 where they reached the playoffs. Wright is also credited with the spotting of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the domestic circuit in 2013. Thus, he is one of the better coaches in the league. 5) Trevor Bayliss Trevor Bayliss. (Photo Source: Twitter) Trevor Bayliss is a professional coach who played domestic cricket in Australia for few years. Although Bayliss has not played international cricket, he is a successful coach leading several sides to glory. In international cricket, he coached Sri Lanka from 2007 for 4 years and England from 2015 to 2019, the period during which English limited-overs cricket revolutionised. After his successful coaching tenure in the BBL, Bayliss was appointed as coach by the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2012. In his stint of 3 years, KKR won the league twice in 2012 and 2014 which is a massive feat. After a gap of few years due to international commitments, Bayliss returned to the IPL in 2020 when the Sunrisers Hyderabad chose him as their head coach. With an inexperienced side, Bayliss did a commendable job taking them to the playoffs in 2020 after an inconsistent start to the tourney. Bayliss has thus time and again proved his value and is among the top IPL coaches of all time. 4) Tom Moody Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor V.V.S Laxman, head coach Tom Moody and bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan. (Photo by IANS) Tom Moody has had an illustrious coaching career. Moody played for the Australian national side for several years gaining major success in the one-day team, being a part of 2 World Cup-winning teams of 1987 and 1999. He then retired in 2001 and has held coaching positions in multiple franchise and international teams. He coached Sri Lanka’s national team from 2005 to 2007, guiding them to the finals of the 2007 World Cup. Following his success, he was appointed as the coach by the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) in the inaugural IPL season. Punjab played some wonderful cricket under him and reached the playoffs. Moody then returned to the IPL in 2013, when he was announced as the coach by the Sunrisers Hyderabad. As a coach, Moody stayed at the franchise for 6 years till 2019 garnering a lot of success for the franchise. Sunrisers qualified for the playoffs 5 times and won the title in 2016 during Moody’s tenure. He is still associated with the franchise, this time as Director of Cricket, pairing with coach Trevor Bayliss. 3) Ricky Ponting Ricky Ponting. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Punter’s wonderful international captaincy record is known by all. A two-time World Cup-winning captain, Ricky Ponting truly has a leadership character in him. As it turns out, Ponting is also a great coach. After being a part of the Mumbai Indians as the skipper, Ponting handed over the captaincy to Rohit Sharma and was appointed as the coach in 2015. He led the team to the title in the 2015 season itself and had a decent overall record with a win percentage of 55.17. Ponting joined a young Delhi Capitals team in the 2018 season. He transformed the bunch of youngsters into a complete squad and after failing in 2018, Delhi reached the playoffs in 2019 and the finals in 2020. They even looked strong in 2021 and could also clinch their maiden title under Ponting’s guidance. 2) Mahela Jayawardene Mahela Jayawardene. (Photo: IANS) The Sri Lankan has contributed a lot to Sri Lankan cricket. Mahela Jayawardene was a premier batsman and also the national side’s captain for a substantial period. He has also played the IPL for more than one franchise and has decent experience in the league. After short stints as department coach in international cricket, he was appointed as the head coach by the Mumbai Indians in 2017. Jayawardene tasted success quickly as MI won the title in 2017. However, in the 2018 season, MI could not qualify, owing to their usual clumsy start. Under Jayawardene’s leadership, MI then won 2 consecutive championships in 2019 and 2020 taking their total tally to 5 titles, and became the only second team after CSK to defend their title. Thus, Mahela has 3 trophies in the 4 seasons of his IPL coaching journey and thus stands at spot 2 in this list. 1) Stephen Fleming Stephen Fleming. (Photo Source: Twitter) At the top of this list, we have another New Zealander, Stephen Fleming. Fleming was a wonderful batsman and skipper for his country’s national side. He played the IPL in the inaugural season for the Chennai Super Kings and took over as the coach in the very next season. Since then, CSK have not changed their coach and Fleming remains the longest-serving coach in IPL history. In this long tenure as head coach, CSK have reached the playoffs stage every single time except 2020 and have clinched the title 3 times in the process. Fleming has an overall win percentage of 59.26% combining his stints at CSK and the Rising Pune Supergiant. These records are enough to prove how successful Fleming is in the tournament and is rightly the best coach the IPL has seen.

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Ranking top 10 IPL coaches of all time

A friendly coach who can be strict when needed would be an ideal candidate.

1) Stephen Fleming

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