WPL: Luke Williams replaces Ben Sawyer as RCB head coach

Australia's Luke Williams will take over as the head coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the second season of the Women's Premier League.

Williams will replace compatriot Ben Sawyer after RCB endured a torrid inaugural season earlier this year, reported ESPNCricinfo.

Under the captaincy of India's Smriti Mandhana and featuring Australian legend Ellyse Perry, New Zealand's Sophie Devine and England's Heather Knight, RCB finished a disappointing fourth in the five-team event.

RCB managed a mere two wins in eight matches.

As the coach of Women's Big Bash League side Adelaide Strikers, the 43-year-old Williams guided them to a title win in 2022-23 season while they also finished runner-up on two previous instances.

As assistant coach of The Hundred Women's Competition, he won the title with Southern Brave.

Ahead of the WPL this year, RCB invested heavily as they signed Mandhana for a whopping Rs 3.4 crore, making her the most expensive player of the inaugural auction.

Mandhana failed to inspire her side with the bat, managing just 149 runs in eight innings at 18.62 and a strike rate of 111.19 with top score of 37.

RCB's men's team, which is yet to win the Indian Premier League title, last month appointed Andy Flower as head coach replacing Sanjay Bangar with Mike Hesson also quitting as the franchise's director of cricket.