Mark Boucher to quit as South Africa head coach after T20 World Cup, in-line for IPL job

Bengaluru, September 13: Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Monday (September 12) announced head coach Mark Boucher will quit from his role after the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia in October-November.

Boucher, who has held the position since December 2019, is now reportedly in the fray for a coaching role in the Indian Premier League (IPL) once his stint with the South African team comes to an end.

As per a report from Cricbuzz, Boucher is believed to have accepted an offer from an IPL franchise with some discussions still underway to see if he will coach the IPL side in India, or SA20 side in South Africa or at both places.

Boucher is no stranger to the IPL, having played in the initial years as a player for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders, where he also worked under Jacques Kallis in coaching capacity.

"Mr Boucher has decided to resign in order to pursue other opportunities in line with his future career and personal objectives," CSA said in a statement.

"While Cricket SA greatly regrets that Mr Boucher is unable to see out the term of his contract, it respects his decision and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours."

Since taking over in 2019, Boucher led the Proteas to 11 Test wins, including a memorable 2-1 series win against India at home in January. The Proteas are also currently number two on the ICC World Test Championship table.

In the limited-overs format, Boucher has helped South Africa claim 12 ODI wins, and 23 T20 International victories.

CSA Chief Executive Officer Pholetsi Moseki said: "We would like to thank Mark for the time and effort he has invested in South African cricket as the head coach over the past three years.

"He has helped navigate us through some rough waters following the departures of so many senior players through retirement and has helped lay some strong foundations for the next generation of Proteas.

"We are extremely grateful to him for the work he has done and would like to wish him well with the next chapter of his career."

CSA also added that it will make an announcement regarding a successor to Boucher in due course. The T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia is set to be held from October 22-November 13. South Africa will be in Group 2 of the Super 12 along with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and two qualifiers.

(With Agency inputs)