Cricket-Jayawardene quits as coach and gets a bigger job with the Mumbai Indians of the IPL

Image: Reuters Berita 24 English -  Mahela Jayawardene will step down as head coach of the Mumbai Indians and take on a bigger role at the t...

Image: Reuters

Berita 24 English - Mahela Jayawardene will step down as head coach of the Mumbai Indians and take on a bigger role at the team, the Indian Premier League team said on Wednesday. This is because the team's international reach is growing.

The owners of Mumbai just bought teams in the International League T20, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, and in a new league in South Africa, which is based in Cape Town.

In a statement, Mumbai said that Jayawardene, who used to be the captain of Sri Lanka, will become the global head of performance.

"With MI #OneFamily growing to include MI Emirates and MI Cape Town in addition to Mumbai Indians, the team management saw the need for a central team," the team said.

"As part of building the structure, Mahela Jayawardene and Zaheer Khan, both of whom have a deep understanding of the MI value system and a track record of success, are being given new jobs."

Mumbai, which has won the IPL five times and is led by Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, is one of the best teams in the league.

Jayawardene will work closely with each of the head coaches in his new job to make sure that all three teams play the same kind of cricket.

Zaheer, who used to be a fast bowler for India, has been promoted from director of cricket operations to global head of cricket development. He will now be in charge of scouting and developing talent for the franchise.