Zubin Bharucha has joined Mumbai Indians as its Director of Performance, switching franchises in a role that will see him work closely with the existing multi-disciplinary leadership group across performance disciplines.
The appointment adds a former Mumbai opener whose coaching and player-development credentials have been built over more than a decade with Rajasthan Royals. Bharucha was instrumental in setting up and running year-long programmes at the Royals’ academy near Nagpur and played a key role in the development of several Indian youngsters, including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Bharucha’s appointment is the first major change to Mumbai Indians’ support structure following an exhaustive review after the franchise’s disastrous IPL campaign. His mandate, however, extends beyond the immediate needs of the senior side, with the focus firmly on creating and strengthening the pathway for Indian talent within the MI ecosystem.
“Zubin will join the current support staff within MI’s highly integrated ecosystem and build on Mumbai Indians’ established approach to delivering sustained excellence in player development,” a statement by MI read on Saturday.