Reports: Andy Flower one of the front-runners to grab Rajasthan Royals head coach role

It is the season of coach and management shuffles. From Pakistan, Afghanistan and the sides like England looking out for new coaching staff, the T20I franchises are not far behind. The next edition of the Indian Premier League is another seven months away but the buzz has started to begin. From the BCCI announcing the dates of the 2020 edition’s auction to the franchises looking out for new head coaches, the euphoria is starting to rear its head.

After Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers, Bangalore announced former Kiwi captain and ex-Knight Brendon McCullum and former Aussie batsman Simon Katich as their respective head coach, another franchise could be bracing itself for a marquee signing.

According to a report published in The Telegraph, former Zimbabwe captain and head coach of England Cricket team, Andy Flower could become the next coach of the Rajasthan Royals. As per the report, Flower is among the shortlisted candidates by Andrew Strauss and Clive Woodward. Strauss and Woodward are involved to appoint RR’s new coach.

Flower, a front-runner for both RR and KXIP Head Coach role

One of the best wicketkeeping-batsmen of his era; a batsman who revolutionized the reverse-sweep, Flower has proved his credentials as a coach. After joining the English set-up in 2007 as an assistant coach, Flower was promoted to the position of the head coach, two years later.

Under Flower, England went on to win their maiden ICC Trophy when they beat Australia in the finals of the 2010 World Twenty20 besides becoming the No.1 Test side; one that went on to become the first English side in the past two decades to beat Australia in Australia [3-1 in 2010-11].

Apart from England, Flower also had a stint with Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL. The demand for the services of Flower can be estimated from the fact that he is also a front-runner as far as becoming the coach of KXIP, according to a report published in Mumbai Mirror.

If Flower does go on and become the coach of Rajasthan Royals, he will replace the incumbent Paddy Upton. It will be interesting to see how he and Steven Smith work in tandem and how they bring about a change in the fortunes of the franchise. The Rahane/Smith led Royals finished at the seventh spot in the 2018 season, winning just five games out of 14.

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