Ex-Indian Opener Lalchand Rajput Becomes UAE Head Coach
Former opener of Indian cricket team Lalchand Rajput has been appointed as the head coach of the UAE men's national team for the next three years. He will officially take charge of the team this week. His first assignment is going to be the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 ODI tri-series being hosted in the UAE, with Scotland and Canada as the other participants. The tri-series will start next Wednesday. The UAE will then host Scotland for three bilateral T20Is next month.
Currently, Rajput is the head of the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Cricket Improvement Committee. He played for India in two tests and four ODIs from 1985–87. After his retirement, Rajput took up coaching and went to coach India’s T20 World Cup-winning team in 2007.
A release by UAE Cricket quoted Rajput as saying, “I want to thank the Emirates Cricket Board for appointing me for this exciting role. UAE has emerged as one of the stronger Associate Members in recent years, and the players have put in some good performances in both ODIs and T20Is. The current batch is exceptionally talented, and I look forward to working with them and further harnessing their cricket skills.