Mark Boucher was reportedly willing to stay on as Proteas head coach but unable to reach a compromise with Cricket South Africa.
According to Rapport newspaper, Boucher wanted to see out his four-year contract, which was set to end after next year’s ODI World Cup, while also coaching MI Cape Town in the inaugural SA20 tournament in January and February.
However, CSA rejected that dual-role proposal, and when the door closed on the SA20 opportunity, Boucher became linked with the Mumbai Indians head coach role in the IPL.
That appointment was confirmed on Friday, just days after CSA announced that Boucher would leave the Proteas following the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November.
“Yes, we talked to him about it in England,” CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki told Rapport when asked about Boucher’s request to also coach MI Cape Town.
“There are logistical issues. England are here in January while the SA20 is underway. So how does a national coach balance those commitments when he is also coaching a domestic T20 franchise at the same time?”
A source close to Boucher told Rapport: “Mark didn’t want to go. However, he could not work anything out with CSA. That was the deciding factor.”
