BCCI appoints Sanjay Bangar as head coach for the Zimbabwe tour

The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) has appointed former batting coach Sanjay Bangar as the head coach of the Indian team for the tour of Zimbabwe whereas India U19 fielding coach Abhay Sharma has been handed over the responsibility of the fielding coach for the team.

The BCCI tweeted: “@ImSanjayBangar appointed head coach, Abhay Sharma named fielding coach for India’s tour of Zimbabwe #ZimvInd”

Also check out – Indian team announced for Zimbabwe tour

It was earlier, speculated in the media that the BCCI could discharge the previous team of Bangar, R Sridhar and Bharat Arun from their duties.

Sanjay Bangar will be the first head coach for the Indian team after Duncan Fletcher’s tenure ended 18 months ago. The board had then appointed former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri as the team director but his term came to an end with the conclusion of the World T20 2016 in March-April.

Also read – Memorable phase of my life was when I was the Indian team director: Ravi Shastri

In a recent interview, Shastri was asked about his time with the team and whether he would apply for the coaching job. He said,  “I have no doubt in my mind that these are the best 18 months that I have spent during my association with Indian cricket as a player and then as a Team Director. It has been the most memorable phase of my life if I just look back at what we achieved as a team during this phase. Credit to the boys for making it special.”

“I will only apply for accreditation of the IPL final,” the former team director said.

This comes in as a good news for Bangar who didn’t have a memorable IPL with his team the Kings XI Punjab holding the wooden spoon and finished with just 4 wins in the 14 games they played in the season.

Alert: @ImSanjayBangar appointed head coach, Abhay Sharma named fielding coach for India's tour of Zimbabwe #ZimvInd pic.twitter.com/JtzhSbj6tp

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 26, 2016

The Indian team will play 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is in Zimbabwe, starting on June 11.