The Odisha Cricket Association has named Rashmi Ranjan Parida as coach for the new season to replace Debashish Mohanty, who was inducted into the junior national selection panel.
A seasoned campaigner, Parida was a selector for the Odisha team and has been replaced in that role by former Railways off-spinner Kulamani Parida.
“I have been informed about the decision a few hours back and I am looking forward to the challenge,” Rashmi Ranjan Parida told Sportstar .
He featured in 139 first-class matches for Odisha, Rajasthan, Assam, Vidarbha and Himachal Pradesh, and played a key role in helping Rajasthan win back-to-back Ranji Trophy titles in 2010-11 and 2011-12. He last featured for Himachal Pradesh in the 2014-15 season.
“I was associated with the Odisha team for a while but wasn’t expecting this new responsibility. But now that it has come my way, the target will be to help the team do well,” Parida said.
Having worked with the players in the past, the newly appointed coach made it clear that he will try and inspire the boys to perform well. “The idea is to ensure that every cricketer plays to his potential. I will soon decide on how to go about it,” he said.
On Friday, Mohanty was inducted into the junior national selection panel and had to part ways with the Odisha team as a consequence. “His (Mohanty) contribution has been huge and we will be trying to maintain the standard high,” Parida said.
Odisha had named former India batsman Shiv Sundar Das as its head coach last season, but brought Mohanty back after a poor outing.
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