Trevor Bayliss signs with Sunrisers Hyderabad as head coach

World Cup-winning coach Trevor Bayliss, whose tenure with England comes to an end after the Ashes, will take over as the Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach. This will be Bayliss' second stint in the IPL, having already coached Kolkata Knight Riders from 2012 to 2015, during which time the franchise won the title twice.

It is understood that Sunrisers and Bayliss will work out the tenure of his contract soon. ESPNcricinfo understands the franchise is yet to make a decision on the rest of the support staff, but it will retain the pair of VVS Laxman (mentor) and Muttiah Muralitharan (consultant).

Bayliss replaces fellow Australian Tom Moody, who parted ways with Sunrisers after seven seasons. Sunrisers had won the IPL in 2016, and then finished runners-up in the 2018 edition. In 2019, they scraped through to the playoffs but finished fourth eventually.

"After very careful consideration, the Sunrisers franchise has decided to take a new direction with the Head Coaching role and will be parting ways with the services of Tom Moody," Sunrisers said in a statement. The reason Bayliss was preferred for the head coach role was that he is a "proven winner" and an "ideal" person to guide the future of the franchises.

According to K Shanmugham, the Sunrisers' CEO, it was the management's decision to part ways with Moody. The franchise made it clear Moody was not being snubbed and acknowledged he had made an "enormous impact" in Sunrisers making the IPL playoffs five times in seven seasons. "Tom has been the longest-serving coach in the IPL. He played a big role in the development and success of the franchises. But the management felt it was time to try out someone new," Shanmugham said.

Moody tweeted a message of gratitude to the players, support staff and fans.

It's been a privilege to work for Sunrisers Hyderabad, I have made many friendships and good memories. The success we've enjoyed over the 7 yrs is a testament to a hard working team on and off the field. A special thank you to the players, support staff and all the fans. https://t.co/2dYphE3yQF

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) July 18, 2019

Bayliss' pedigree as a multiple-title winning coach is unparalleled and is the big reason why more than one IPL franchise was trying to get him on board. It is understood Knight Riders, too, had initiated talks with him, as did Rajasthan Royals.

Under Bayliss' watch, England won the 2015 Ashes 3-2, reached the World T20 final in 2016, became No. 1 side in the ODI rankings and won the World Cup at Lord's last week. Bayliss had also won the Big Bash League with Sydney Sixers in 2011-12 and had also coached Sri Lanka, who reached the 2011 World Cup final during his tenure.