IPL 2021: Tom Moody returns to Sunrisers Hyderabad, this time as SRH's director of cricket

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) appointed Tom Moody as their director of cricket ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021.

Moody, who served as the head coach of SRH from its inception in 2013 to 2019, helped the Hyderabad side to qualify for the playoffs five times, including the title win in IPL 2016. The Australian was replaced by Trever Bayliss as SRH's coach ahead of the 2020 edition, where SRH lost in the qualifier 2 fixture to eventual finalists Delhi Capitals (DC). SRH have now progressed beyond the league stage in five successive years.

The former Australian all-rounder, who retired as a player in 2001, tasted considerable success in limited-overs, especially in the 50-over format. He scored over 11,000 runs in List A cricket, while he also picked 257 wickets in the format. He was also a part of Australia's two World Cup winning campaigns – 1987 and 1999. In his coaching career so far, he was the head coach of Sri Lanka when they reached the 2007 World Cup final, and has enjoyed success with English and Australian domestic sides, apart from being among the most in-demand coaches in T20 leagues around the world with stints in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Even in the IPL, before taking up SRH's job, Moody coached Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) from 2008 to 2010, but found more success with SRH, starting with a playoff qualification in their first year in 2013. The Hyderabad franchise finished sixth in 2014 and 2015, but since the title run in 2016, SRH, under David Warner's captaincy, have consistently been among the best sides in the tournament.