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Photograph: Harrias (CC BY-SA 3.0)

MI EmiratesHead Coach

Mark Boucher

Head coach · South Africa

Born

3 December 1976, East London

Playing role

Wicketkeeper

Batting

Right-handed

Bowling

Right-arm medium

Mark Boucher is the head coach of MI Emirates in ILT20 Season 5, appointed in September 2026. A former South Africa wicketkeeper who holds the record for the most Test dismissals, Boucher has coached South Africa, Mumbai Indians and MI New York, and he takes over an MI Emirates side that won the ILT20 title in 2024.

Mark Boucher: Quick Facts

Mark Boucher: Personal life

Boucher married Carmen Lotter in 2017.

Playing career

Boucher played for South Africa between 1997 and 2012: 147 Tests, 295 ODIs and 25 T20Is. He was educated at Selborne College in East London, where Richard Pybus, the school's cricket master, turned him from an off-spinner into a wicketkeeper, and he played domestic cricket for Border. He made his Test debut against Pakistan in October 1997 and held the wicketkeeping post for most of the next 15 years, scoring 5,515 Test runs, including five centuries, and taking 555 Test dismissals, 532 catches and 23 stumpings, the most by any wicketkeeper in Test cricket. Across all formats he finished with 998 dismissals, also a record for a wicketkeeper. He was part of the South Africa team that won the 1998 ICC KnockOut Trophy. In the IPL he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore from 2008 to 2010 and for Kolkata Knight Riders in 2011, who bought him for ₹1.49 crore. His playing career ended in July 2012, when a serious eye injury in a tour match against Somerset forced his retirement.

Coaching career

Boucher was appointed head coach of the Titans in August 2016, despite having no prior coaching experience, and he led them to five domestic titles: two One Day Cups, two T20 Challenge titles and one four-day Sunfoil Series. In December 2019 he became head coach of South Africa, staying until November 2022. He was then head coach of Mumbai Indians in the IPL in 2023, when the side reached the playoffs, and in 2024, when they finished last, and he later coached MI New York in Major League Cricket, leading them to the title in 2025. He was appointed MI Emirates head coach for ILT20 2026-27, succeeding Robin Singh, who had led the side to the 2024 title.

Records and achievements

Boucher's playing record behind the stumps has never been beaten, and his coaching record already covers three countries.

• Most Test dismissals by a wicketkeeper, 555
• Most dismissals across formats by a wicketkeeper, 998
• ICC KnockOut Trophy winner with South Africa in 1998
• Five domestic titles with the Titans, as head coach
• Major League Cricket title with MI New York in 2025, as head coach

Mark Boucher in ILT20 Season 5

Boucher leads an MI Emirates side that won the ILT20 title in 2024 and reached the final again in 2025-26, losing to Desert Vipers by 46 runs. Nicholas Pooran captains the side, with Rashid Khan in the squad, and Boucher's appointment continues his long association with the Mumbai Indians family of teams.

These are the ten league fixtures. This section will be updated as Season 5 is played.

Career numbers

International career, 1997 to 2012. The Test dismissals tally is 532 catches and 23 stumpings.

Conclusion

Boucher's Season 5 job is to go one better than the 2025-26 final loss, with Nicholas Pooran as captain and Rashid Khan in the squad. His keeping record will never be beaten; an ILT20 title as coach would be a fine addition to it.

More coverage: the MI Emirates squad, the Season 5 schedule and the full coaches index.