Gurshwin Rabie has been appointed head coach of the Garden Route Badgers (formerly SWD) for the next two years.

He succeeds Piet Botha, who has joined the Proteas as bowling coach.

Rabie, who turns 40 in June, was the Badgers assistant coach for the past two seasons and becomes SWD’s first local head coach since their inception into first-class cricket.

Rabie’s first-class playing career stretched from 2008 until 2017.  He featured in 92 first-class and 48 List A matches for Western Province, the Cape Cobras, SWD and the Warriors. He bagged 92 wickets at first-class level.

Rabie was SWD Academy coach from 2016 to 2018 and fulfilled a similar role at Western Province between 2018 and 2021. He returned to SWD in September 2021 to become Badgers assistant coach.

READ: Proteas duo bolsters Boland

“Promotion to Division 1 at the end of the upcoming 2023-24 season is high on our priorities and we are confident that Gurshwin with his support staff and the contracted squad will deliver the desired results,” said SWD Cricket CEO Albertus Kennedy.

“I’m honoured to be named head coach of the Garden Route Badgers,” Rabie said. “It was always one of my dreams and I’m very excited about the opportunity at the province where I learned my cricket.

“One of my first jobs is to create a culture and team environment to help the team to operate in a professional manner. Secondly, I want to help the players to grow individually in their own games, ultimately to reach their own goals. And lastly to help SWD to be elevated into the top tier of South African cricket.”