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SEASONED coach, Lalchand Rajput, who is presently associated with the Zimbabwe cricket team has applied for India’s coaching job.
The former Mumbai captain, who has coached the Indian team before, has formally sent his application to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), requesting them to consider him for both head coach and batting coach positions.
Before taking up duties with Zimbabwe, Rajput was the head coach of the Afghanistan national side and helped the country attain Test status in 2017.
His previous stint with India coincided with some turbulent times for cricket in the country. In 2007-08, many senior cricketers were not happy with erstwhile coach Greg Chappell. Rajput, with his support staff Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh steadied the ship and guided India to victory in the inaugural World T20 in South Africa.
Interestingly, this time around, Prasad, Singh and Rajput have applied for various roles in the Indian coaching department. Singh is also in the fray for the job of head coach, while sources in the BCCI say that Prasad has applied for the role of bowling coach. The Indian speedster, however, has not confirmed his interest or application for the position.
The BCCI had invited applications for coaching roles with Tuesday set as the deadline. While Ravi Shastri looks on course for a re-appointment as the head coach, this publication has learnt that the interest in the head coach position has been lukewarm. Former South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes has already applied for the position of fielding coach. Meanwhile, seasoned coaches and former players have expressed an interest in other positions.
BCCI sources claim that Mike Hesson and Phil Simmons have also sent in their applications, however, this is yet to be confirmed.
A three-member panel led by former Indian captain Kapil Dev is likely to conduct interviews for the head coach role on August 13-14. – Thehindu.com
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