Ajay Ratra applies for Mumbai coach job

Former India stumper Ajay Ratra, from Haryana, has jumped into the race to become the new coach of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team for the upcoming season.

The 36-year-old Ratra had played in six Test matches and 12 One-Day Internationals for India, scoring 163 and 90 runs, respectively.

But, Ratra’s First-Class record speaks volumes for him as a player. In 99 First-Class matches, he had amassed 4,029 runs with the highest score of 204 not out.

“Among the applicants for the position of Mumbai Ranji coach is Ajay Ratra. He has made an application to the MCA on Monday,” a senior Mumbai Cricket Association official said today.

READ: Powar applies for Mumbai’s coaching role

The race for the Mumbai coach could be a heated one with former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar also in the fray. It is also understood that another prominent name in contention is former Mumbai wicketkeeper and batsman Vinayak Samant. Samant is also a domestic bulwark, having played 101 First-Class matches, scoring 3,496 runs.

“Samant, Nandan Phadnis, Pritam Gandhe and Vinod Raghavan have also applied for the position of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy coach,” the official said, adding that Gandhe and Raghavan have also applied for the post of the coach of Mumbai Under-19 team.

While Phadnis is a former Maharashtra stumper, Gandhe, a right-handed batsman and an off-spinner, played for Vidarbha. The cricket body will now shortlist the candidates for the coach, and interviews and presentations will be held on July 6, to be conducted by the Cricket Improvement Committee.