MI Emirates have announced Mark Boucher, the former South African wicketkeeper-batter, as their new head coach for the ILT20 2026-27 season. Boucher succeeds ex-India batsman Robin Singh, under whom the team claimed the ILT20 crown in 2024.
The announcement comes just as the franchise gears up for the tournament’s player auction, slated for Wednesday in Dubai. Boucher is no stranger to the MI setup, having previously led the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during 2023 and 2024. During his tenure, Mumbai Indians reached the playoffs in 2023 but ended at the bottom of the table in 2024. He later coached MI New York to victory in the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC).
Under Singh, MI Emirates were runners-up in the ILT20 2025, following their championship win the year before. Boucher’s extensive coaching résumé includes a stint as South Africa’s head coach from December 2019 to November 2022. As a player, Boucher had an illustrious international career with 147 Test matches, 295 One-Day Internationals, and 25 Twenty20 Internationals to his name before retiring in 2012. He also played franchise cricket in the IPL and Champions League.
The upcoming ILT20 season runs from 22nd November to 20th December, with MI Emirates operating under a budget of $1,390,000 for the auction. The team is on the lookout for four players from the UAE, seven from Full Member nations, and one each from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and an Associate country. The availability of UAE players this season, however, remains up in the air due to their commitments in the ODI World Cup qualifiers, which overlap with the ILT20 competition.
Boucher’s vast experience in both international and franchise cricket could prove invaluable as MI Emirates aim to reclaim their championship status.
