Klinger appointed to lead Gades' BBL title defence

The most prolific batsman in KFC Big Bash history has been tasked with leading the Melbourne Renegades' title defence with Michael Klinger appointed as the club's coach.

The reigning BBL champions announced Tuesday that the 39-year-old would step straight from the playing field into the coaching box, naming him as the replacement for new Australia men's assistant coach Andrew McDonald.

"To be given the opportunity to coach the current BBL champions is obviously very humbling and a fantastic honour," Klinger said.

"I've played with and against a number of players in the squad and I'm looking forward to working alongside such a talented playing group. Andrew has set up a terrific platform and I'm ready to take that forward this season.

"I've been fortunate to represent some outstanding organisations throughout my career and the lessons I've learned along the way leave me feeling as well prepared as I can be for the challenges that will inevitably emerge throughout the season."

Klinger, whose record of 1,947 BBL runs is set to be overtaken by Renegades captain Aaron Finch (1,889 runs) and Chris Lynn (1,945) this season, called time on a decorated Australian career last summer.

His appointment to the Renegades marks something of a homecoming for the Melbourne-born batsman, who won a T20 title with Victoria in 2006-07 during the old state-based Big Bash before moving to South Australia (winning another T20 title there in 2010-11) before finishing his career with Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers.

He helped the Scorchers to the BBL04 and BBL06 titles, earning a long-awaited call-up to the national side to play three T20s against Sri Lanka in 2017.

The Renegades have retained the core of the squad that helped them win their maiden title last summer.

Klinger's former Scorchers teammate Shaun Marsh is their prized off-season recruit, while the emergence of teenage Jake Fraser-McGurk also looks set to the bolster the club's batting firepower.

English death-bowling specialist Harry Gurney and Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi will return as overseas players, while the Renegades have also been linked with a move for destructive West Indian allrounder Andre Russell.

Cricket Victoria general manager of cricket Shaun Graf said they had considered candidates from all around the world.

"This was a highly sought-after role and we had candidates from across the globe. We are pleased that we were able to secure a person held in such high esteem," said Graf.

"The qualities that made 'Maxy' such an accomplished player are the qualities that will set him up for an excellent coaching career. He's well-prepared, well-structured and an excellent man manager with fantastic leadership experience.

"We know he'll receive strong support from 'Finchy' and the rest of the team, as well as the other coaches."