The manager of India's ICC World Twenty 20-winning team, Lalchand Rajput, has been appointed as the head coach of UAE's senior men's cricket team.
Rajput has signed a three-year contract with the UAE senior men's team and will officially take charge this week in the lead-up to the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 ODI tri-series to be played in the UAE between Scotland and Canada and the hosts.
The tri-series will get underway on Wednesday, February 28.
Rajput has an impressive CV as a coach. He was the manager of the Indian team that won the ICC Men's World Twenty 20 in South Africa in 2007.
He went on to coach Afghanistan in 2016-17 and helped them attain Test status during his tenure. Later, his stint with Zimbabwe helped them to qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022.
The former India Test player extended gratitude to the Emirates Cricket Board and is confident that the UAE players can improve in the foreseeable future.
"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," Rajput said in a press release issued by Emirates Cricket.
"I am confident that the boys buoyed by their exposure to top-quality cricket and practice facilities here in Dubai will continue to prosper, UAE cricket has a very bright future and my goal would be to make the team perform more consistently and take them to the next level which I am very confident they are fully capable of," he added.
General Secretary Emirates Cricket Board Mubashshir Usmani expressed delight in the appointment of Rajput and thanked Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar for his contributions as interim head coach.
"We are delighted to announce the appointment of Lalchand Rajput as UAE men’s head coach. Rajput has a proven track record and has done an exceptional job as a coach for various national and domestic teams around the world.
"We are confident that under his coaching UAE men’s cricket will flourish further. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mudassar Nazar for his stellar work as the interim head coach. Mudassar will now return to his role as Head of the National Academy Programme where he will continue to identify and groom our future stars," said Usmani.
