Michael Klinger.
Credit: Instagram/@maxyklinger
Mumbai: Former Australian cricketer Michael Klinger on Tuesday replaced Rachael Haynes as the head coach of the Gujarat Giants for the second season of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
The second season of the WPL will start on February 23 and will be played across two cities in New Delhi and Bengaluru.
Gujarat Giants, who finished last in the five-team tournament in the inaugural edition, will take on defending champions Mumbai Indians in their season opener in Bengaluru on February 25.
Former India captain Mithali Raj will continue in her role as the mentor and advisor for the team while Nooshin Al Khadeer will remain the bowling coach, the franchise informed in a media release.
However, the release did not mention if batting coach for the first season Tushar Arothe would continue in his role.
"Gujarat Giants have a chance to do something special in the season 2 of the Women's Premier League. I am eagerly looking forward to working with cricketing legend in Mithali Raj, who has played a transformative role in women’s cricket in India,” said Klinger, who played three T20Is for Australia in 2017 and was the assistance coach for Sydney Thunder in Women's Big Bash League.
"His expertise with the bat is also well-known and will surely benefit some of the younger members of our team," Raj was quoted as saying in the release.