After being crowned One-Day Cup champions at the end of the past season, the Dolphins coaching staff of Imraan Khan, Quinton Friend and Mduduzi Mbatha have all penned new contracts with the franchise.
After battling to find their feet at the start of the 4-Day Franchise Series at the end of 2019, the Dolphins began 2020 as a completely different team winning two of their three 4-Day Domestic Series games.
They continued that form in the One-Day Cup when they won seven of their 10 games in the competition to finish top of the log and ultimately be crowned champions for the second time in three seasons.
These performances have led the administrators at KZN Cricket to reward the coaching staff with a two-year extension to their contracts.
‘Immy, Quinton and Duzi have grown hugely as coaches this season and we are delighted to have the stability that they will be at the helm for at least another two seasons,’ CEO of KZN Cricket Heinrich Strydom said.
‘Their passion for the game and the team culture that they have helped create here is hugely encouraging for us and we are excited to see what we can achieve in the next two seasons and beyond.’
Khan spent two seasons with Grant Morgan as his understudy before he moved into the head coach position for this season.
‘It’s always nice to be recognised for your performances but I think the credit has to go to the players,’ Khan said. ‘They were fantastic in how they bought into the work that we were doing as coaches.
‘We have tried to create an environment where we maintain high standards which I think we have managed to do through the season.’
Khan and Friend played cricket together at the Dolphins, so they have a strong relationship and the addition of Mbatha completed a strong combination. Khan is looking forward to building on those relationships.
‘Duzi has been a breath of fresh air for us and has helped in setting really high standards, which has been great. We knew that we had the talent in the squad to be competitive and the guys put their hands up and performed well which is encouraging going into the off-season and into the new season,’ Khan added.
Photo: Gallo Images
