Jaipur, Mar 20 (IANS): Rajasthan Royals, the winners of the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), announced on Monday that Kumar Sangakkara will continue to serve in the dual role of Director of Cricket and head coach, and will be assisted by Trevor Penney for the 2023 season of the tournament.

Sangakkara's former national teammate, Sri Lankan bowling legend Lasith Malinga also continues with the franchise as fast bowling coach, along with Zubin Bharucha as Strategy, Development and Performance Director, Giles Lindsay as Head of Analytics & Technology, Siddhartha Lahiri as support coach, and Dishant Yagnik as fielding coach.

The IPL 2022 runners-up have also on-boarded Mon Brokman as their Mental Performance Coach and Neil Barry as the Assistant Physio. Brokman, who has previously worked with athletes from various Olympic sports, joins the team to assist with mental conditioning and help the players with their decision-making during pressure situations.

Meanwhile, Barry has served Rajasthan Royals' partner franchise Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League and will be assisting John Gloster during the IPL season.

The Sanju Samson-led team have also retained the services of John Gloster (Head Physio), Dr. Rob Young (Team Doctor), and AT Rajamani Prabhu (Strength & Conditioning Coach).

Rajasthan Royals will start their IPL 2023 campaign on April 2 in Hyderabad against 2016 IPL winners Sunrisers Hyderabad, with the match scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm IST.