‘Mumbai doesn’t have a dearth of coaches’

MUMBAI: Mumbai coach Karsan Ghavri, who is heading to Tripura this season, and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Lalchand Rajput had an impromptu tete-a-tete at the Cricket Club of India on Thursday. “There will be a change of guard,” Rajput commented casually after the two exchanged pleasantries, confirming what was an open secret over the past few days - that Mumbai was losing its coach.

Ghavri and Rajput wished each other ‘all the best’ for the coming season and were more than cordial to each other. For Mumbai, the search for a new coach begins now.
“The MCA’s Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) will meet soon and short-list candidates and decide who will be appointed coach,” Rajput said. Praveen Amre, the chairman of the junior selection committee has been appointed as the batting consultant for the Mumbai team.

While Amre is aware of his appointment, the former Test player is waiting for the MCA to reveal the fine print. “I am happy to be a batting consultant, but I am waiting for the MCA to specify the terms and conditions,” Amre told DNA from Bangalore.

Rajput told DNA on Thursday that it was too early to say whether Amre will be offered the full-fledged post of coach. “It’s too premature to decide about anything now,” he said. However, the MCA secretary was confident. “Mumbai does not have a dearth of coaches. The Cricket Improvement Committee will choose the right man,” he said.