The former Indian wicketkeeper batter, Robin Uthappa expressed his desire to become a coach of a team in the IPL 2024. He talks about this during the post-match presentation in ZIM Afro T10 League. Uthappa talks about how he knows how the franchises work in the Indian Premier League and how he can set structures in place, which will help the team he might associate with.
Robin Uthappa also involved in a commentary stint
After retiring, Robin Uthappa was involved in a commentary panel of Star Sports during IPL 2023.
Robin retired from all forms of cricket
Robin Uthappa retired from all forms of cricket in September 2022. He was not playing for Team India for the last 7+ years and played his international game in July 2015 against Zimbabwe. Although he was playing domestic cricket and in the IPL after that, but in September 2022, he gave up all forms of cricket.
Currently played in ZIM Afro T10 League
As he is retired from all forms of cricket, he is now allowed to play in leagues outside India. He played in ILT20 for Dubai Capitals in January 2023 and also played in a recently concluded ZIM Afro T10 League.
His team manages to reach the playoffs
Uthappa played for Harare Hurricanes in the ZIM Afro T10 League, where he was the captain of the team. His team managed to reach the playoffs after finishing at No. 4 in the points table with 4 wins in 8 games.
Harare won the eliminator against Cape Town Samp Army by 9 wickets. But they were knocked out of the tournament after losing the 2nd qualifier against Durban Qalanders.
Uthappa talks about coaching an IPL side during a post-match presentation
After a game in ZIM Afro T10 League, Robin Uthappa talks about becoming a coach in IPL 2024 in the post-match presentation. He also talks about the different roles like cricket operations, and director of cricket, in IPL teams.
“It depends, I would certainly love to be involved with the team. If opportunities do come, I’ll certainly consider it. Yeah (coach), I would love to get involved in setting up…Maybe cricket operations, or director of cricket, where I feel like, I know what it takes or give a team the best chance to win the game,” Uthappa said in the post-match presentation.
Will he be a good choice for the franchises?
Of course. Robin Uthappa played in the IPL from 2008 to 2022. He knows the dynamics of this league and knows how the IPL franchises work. Also, he was associated with different franchises like Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Rajasthan Royals (RR), etc. So he also knows the culture of different teams and how they go about their business.
If not in a coaching role, IPL teams could associate Robin Uthappa as a director, mentor, or in some other roles.
His say on this?
“Because I’ve been with different teams and I know how good teams work, can set structures in place which will help achieve them, something I love to do. So those opportunities, come up I’ll certainly consider them,” Uthappa added.
Uthappa also talks about his desire to play more cricket
Robin Uthappa shows his desire to play in other T20 leagues earlier this year. He also talks about the age factor and why he is not playing Ranji Trophy to not block a chance for the youngsters.
“Well for me, I want to play more cricket. I was waiting 10 months of the year to play just the IPL. Ranji Trophy was not in the picture, you know at the age of 36 you are taking the spot of the youngster. You are not playing red-ball cricket and just appearing for white-ball cricket for practice because the level is altogether different when IPL is compared to domestic cricket. – Robin Uthappa said.
Uthappa’s performance in ZIM Afro T10 League
Robin Uthappa has done well for Harare Hurricans in ZIM Afro T10 League. He becomes the 4th highest run-scorer in the tournament. In 10 games, he scored 259 runs with an average of 28.78 and with an outstanding strike rate of 181.12.
Uthappa’s IPL career:-
In 205 games, he scored 4952 runs in 197 innings with an average of 27.51 and a strike rate of 130.35. He scored 27 fifties with the highest score of 88 in the IPL journey.
Robin Uthappa becomes the IPL winner two times (with KKR and CSK) as well.
Robin Uthappa international career:-
For India, he played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is. He scored 934 runs with an average of 26 in ODIs. In T20Is, he scored 249 runs with an average of 25.
Conclusion
Robin Uthappa becoming a coach in IPL 2024 is all depends on if both, Uthappa and IPL franchises are on the same page. If the team wants him in some role in IPL 2024, we will again see him in IPL (not as a player) in some other capacity.
Let’s see if it happens or not. Do you want to see him as a coach? Comment your answers below. Thank you for reading. Keep following us for the latest updates.
