Before the IPL, the Indian Cricket League existed. While the likes of Ambati Rayudu played in both the leagues, there were a few players who went on to do well as coaches. Here, we take a look at the list of three former ICL players who became Head Coaches in the T20 Leagues.
1) Brian Lara
Not many know that Brian Lara played in the Indian Cricket League. In fact, he was the captain of the Mumbai Champs squad. However, he could not play in the IPL. He went unsold in one of the auctions.
As a Head Coach, Lara served a season with SRH. However, it was not a successful one as the team finished in the bottom half of the table. Later, he was replaced by Daniel Vettori, who led them to the finals in IPL 2024.
2) Hemang Badani
Hemang Badani is one of the former ICL players who became Head Coaches in the T20 Leagues. After his ICL stint, he was picked by the Chennai Super Kings. However, he did not get a single game.
After retirement, he started coaching. He did well in the TNPL and then got a chance as a fielding coach at SRH. Recently, he was the Head Coach of the Dubai Capitals in ILT20. This was his entry to the global field and it will be interesting to see if he gets any other gigs.
3) Lance Klusener
Lance Klusener spent quite some time with the Royal Bengal Tigers in the ICL. He was an excellent all-rounder for them. After retirement, though, he was firmly involved only as a coach outside the ICL.
He was a part of a few national teams, as well. Currently, in the SA20, he is the Head Coach of Durban Super Giants. He also got a chance to be a part of the backroom staff in the recent IPL 2024 at LSG.
