Simon Katich sensationally quits as SRH asst coach after disagreement over IPL auction strategy

Days after the mega auction, Simon Katich has quit Sunrisers Hyderabad as their assistant coach according to Newscorp, an Australia media outlet. The former Australia opener apparently had disagreements about how SRH did not live up to pre-auction discussions and went about having a different strategy during the event.

Coached by Tom Moody, Sunrisers Hyderabad were surprisingly quiet for a long time during the auction and was criticised for picking up a lot of inexperienced players for relatively high rates.

According to Newscorp, Katich was miffed that SRH didn’t follow pre-auction discussions during the two-day event, deviating from plans during the event in Bengaluru.

His resignation is also linked with SRH not bidding for David Warner although there’s no official confirmation on this. Katich had only come into the role late last year after Trevor Bayliss and Brad Haddin quit their roles. 

It was Tom Moody, currently the head coach of SRH, who roped in Katich. But apparently now Katich too has quit the franchise.

Probable Playing XI for IPL 2022: Mumbai Indians

Though it’s unclear what exactly is happening at SRH, quite a few Aussies seem angry at the franchise. David Warner too had taken public shots at the franchise recently after he was controversially benched last year.

A Sunrisers Hyderabad spokesperson, however, conveyed that Katich left because of different reasons.

“He would have been needed for two and half to three months here, including for the pre-IPL camps and he felt it was too long to be inside a controlled bio-bubble. He has also mentioned about family issues and we have agreed to release him,” a franchise spokesman told Cricbuzz on Friday (Februay 18). “We will be announcing a replacement soon.”