Mumbai Indians appoint J Arunkumar as assistant batting coach

Mumbai: J Arunkumar, a heavyweight in the domestic circuit in the 1990s and 2000s, has been appointed as the assistant batting coach of five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians.

A right-handed opening batter and a veteran of over 100 first-class games, Arunkumar represented Karnataka in the Indian domestic circuit for 16 years from 1993 to 2008.

After retirement, he turned to coaching, and was the batting coach of the Karnataka side when they won their back-to-back titles in the Ranji Trophy, the Irani Cup and the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.

His coaching resume also includes stints in the IPL, head coach of Puducherry for the 2019-20 season, and chief coach of the USA national cricket team from 2020 onwards.

Over the last 15 years, Mumbai Indians have emerged as the most consistent franchise with seven titles, which includes a record five trophies in IPL and two Champions League T20 titles.