IPL -Australian Moody to coach Kings XI Punjab

Australian Tom Moody has signed up to coach the Mohali team (Kings XI Punjab) in the money-spinning IPL, the franchise has announced.
“With Yuvraj (Singh) being our captain and Moody as coach, I think everything has fallen into place for us,” Ness Wadia, co-owner of the team, was quoted by the Indian media on Monday.
Moody, 42, a member of two World Cup-winning Australian teams, coached Sri Lanka for two years before leaving in May last year to take up reins for Western Australia.

“We really don’t know much about the game and its technicalities,” said Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, who is also part of the consortium that bought the franchise for $76 million over a 10-year-period. “But we will take professional help to run the franchise in the most efficient manner. “We will take input from captain, coach and the technical members that we are hiring,” she added.

The inaugural edition of the International Cricket Council-sanctioned Twenty20 league starts on April 18.

The tournament will be played over 44 days between eight franchises in eight cities and will feature 59 matches.

Indian media has said former India coach Greg Chappell, ex-Australia coach John Buchanan and Victoria’s Greg Shipperd were the other Australian coaches targeted by IPL teams.

More than 80 international cricketers are expected to feature in a player “auction” in Mumbai on Wednesday with each franchise allowed a cap of $5 million.