Gary Kirsten has been appointed Coach and Mentor of Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.

In an attempt to lift the star-studded team – which over the years included Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, Dale Steyn and Mitchell Starc –  to the top of the pile, Kirsten takes over from New Zealander Daniel Vettori.

Kirsten, one of the greatest Proteas opening batsmen, joined RCB as batting coach this year.

In a statement from the franchise, Sanjeev Churiwala, the RCB chairman, said: ‘During the last IPL season, Gary has proved to be a brilliant mentor to both seasoned and young RCB players and we are confident that he will bring a fresh perspective to the team.’

In 11 editions of the IPL, RCB have never been able to win the title despite having some of the best T20 players. In 2018, they failed to make it to the playoffs and finished sixth on the points table.

Kirsten has solid credentials in India, having led the side to the 2011 World Cup in a stint from 2008 to 2011.

He then moved on to coach South Africa, taking them to the summit of the Test rankings.

Kirsten coached the Delhi Daredevils for two seasons, in 2014 and 2015, but with little success. He was also the coach of Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League in 2017.