2008 IPL champions Rajasthan Royals on Friday announced that Steffan Jones will rejoin the franchise as the high performance fast-bowling coach. The 48-year-old Jones, a former pacer from Wales who played for Kent, Somerset, Northamptonshire and Derbyshire in County Cricket and picked 387 wickets in 148 first-class matches, had previously served as the team's fast-bowling coach in 2019."I am delighted to be returning to the Rajasthan Royals and grateful to the management for giving me the opportunity to work with the team again. With a plethora of talented bowlers in our ranks, I'm looking forward to working with them round the year and preparing them to peak and excel when the season comes," said Jones on his return to Rajasthan setup in a statement.
As part of his new role, Jones will be responsible for providing high quality training, guidance and support to all bowlers who are part of the set-up throughout the year, with a focus on the off-season and in the build up to the IPL season. He will be working with the team during their pre-season camp to be held from March 7 to 10 at the Royals' High Performance Centre in Nagpur."Steffan has been closely associated with the franchise over the past few years so he understands the culture perfectly, and brings with him a very able coaching style, which has been appreciated by both players and management in the past."We are delighted to welcome him back to the franchise in his new role, wherein he will be working with our bowlers and providing support to them throughout the year, and we're confident his expertise can guide us to newer heights," stated Kumar Sangakkara, Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals.
Post the conclusion of the pre-season camp, Jones will remain with the squad, helping the bowlers in the side prepare for the upcoming season. He will also be inputting into the RR Academies in India and around the world, and aid in technical integration of the facilities, while also utilizing technology and innovation to support the overall enhancement and growth of both players and the academies.With Jones on board, the current and future players in Rajasthan would also have a chance to visit and train under the former pacer in England whenever essential, where former players like Jaydev Unadkat and Varun Aaron have also successfully undergone development work in the past during the off season.