Lalchand Rajput confident about his chances for taking over as Indian coach

With all not right between the present Indian coach, Anil Kumble and Indian team, and as his one-year tenure is coming to an end, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has received six applications for the post of Indian coach.

With few big names as Virender Sehwag and Australian player Tom Moody in contention, there are few other names as well. Lalchand Rajput, former Indian Cricketer and current head coach of the Afghanistan national cricket team fancies his chances and seems to be pretty confident to get through.

Rajput who is with the Afghanistan team, as they take on West Indies in shorter formats sounded really tired after a hard day on the field. But then, his mood lightened up when asked about his chances for the job of Indian coach. He told sportsstar, “I am confident.”

Impressive track record

He further added, “Look at my track record. They are self-explanatory. As a coach, I have won the first World T20 for India, the iconic CB Series in Australia. My records with India A and India U-19 teams are equally good.”

Rajput was first given the job of the team manager after the BCCI sacked Greg Chappell. He along with support staff — Venkatesh Prasad (bowling coach) and Robin Singh (fielding coach), helped India win the first T20 World Cup 2007 in South Africa. With Mahendra Singh Dhoni given the job to lead the side, it became all the more important for Rajput to tick all the areas and he did a fine job in doing so.

“After the Chappell era, the morale was low and a turnaround was required. We did that. The team peaked so well, and look at our results,” he said, referring to the winning record against Australia and Pakistan during his tenure. “Handling the players would not be a problem,” the 55-year-old added.

Stint with Afghanistan

Presently with Afghan boys, he has proved his abilities being an integral part of Afghanistan Cricket’s rise to higher echelons. Having seen the performances of Mohammad Nabi and 18-year-old Rashid Khan in Indian Premier League this year speaks volumes about the transformation of Afghanistan team after he took over former Pakistan captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Having got the results under his tenure the Afghanistan Cricket Board is trying their best to extend Rajput’s contact as it ends in August this year. “As a coach, Afghanistan gave me that confidence again. I am really grateful to them for helping me throughout. Since India is my home country, it would be great to coach that team again,” he concluded.