Brian Lara appointed head coach of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have appointed West Indies legend Brian Lara as their head coach, parting ways with Tom Moody on Saturday. Lara had been with the SRH camp in this year's edition of 2022 Indian Premier League as well, playing the role of the franchise's strategic advisor and batting consultant. The official Twitter account of Sunrisers confirmed the appointment, writing Lara will be head coach "for the upcoming IPL seasons."

This will be Lara's first stint as the head coach of a T20 team. According to ESPNCricinfo, SRH and Tom Moody came to a mutual agreement to part ways; Moody was appointed the director of cricket at International League T20 side Desert Vipers. Moody had returned in the role of head coach earlier this year after succeeding Trevor Bayliss in the role following a dismal 2021 season.

However, the former Aussie cricketer failed to turn Sunrisers' fortunes, as they finished 8th in the IPL this year. SRH won six games out of 14.

​​Throughout the season, SRH had faced troubles with captain Kane Williamson's inconsistent form and even as their young pacer Umran Malik enjoyed a breakthrough season, it wasn't enough for the team to earn a playoff qualification.

Hyderabad were also hit with twin injuries to their Indian stars T Natarajan and Washington Sundar, which eventually proved key to their campaign towards the end.

SRH consist of a star-studded support staff with South Africa pace legend Dale Steyn playing the role of bowling coach, while Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan as the franchise's spin-bowling and strategic coach. Brian Lara will have a difficult task on his hands in his new role as head coach; the past two years have been the worst in franchise's history – they finished at the bottom of the table in the previous edition, winning only 3 of their 14 matches.