K. P. Bhaskar will be Delhi’s coach this season along with Virat Kohli’s childhood mentor Rajkumar Sharma as the bowling coach. The announcement was made by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) here on Thursday.
The two-member Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) of Yashpal Sharma and Sunil Valson, which conducted the interviews, found Bhaskar’s credential for the post impeccable. It was observed that Bhaskar had performed well as head coach when Delhi finished runner-up to Vidarbha in 2018.
Bhaskar had reapplied for the job last season but the CAC, comprising Virender Sehwag, Aakash Chopra and Rahul Sanghvi, thought it prudent to bring in Mithun Manhas as Delhi’s coach. The team fared poorly and the DDCA had to fall back on Bhaskar for this season since Manhas did not apply for the job. Others in the fray were Manoj Prabhakar, Hitesh Sharma, Shankar Saini, N. S. Negi.
Having handle various assignments handed to him by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), including stints at the National Cricket Academy, Bhaskar took over the challenge of guiding Uttarakhand last season when the team made its first-class debut. Bhaskar was handpicked for the job by the BCCI and he delivered by ensuring Uttarakhand qualified for the knockout where it lost to in the quarterfinals to Vidarbha, the eventual Ranji Trophy champion.
'Very happy'
On his appointment, Bhaskar said, “I am very happy to be appointed as the Head coach. It would be nice to take Delhi forward, to make it a powerhouse of domestic cricket that consistently challenges and wins major domestic titles. I am looking forward one again to work with the talented bunch of cricketers that we have. I am thankful to the CAC for giving me this opportunity.”
Read | DDCA appoints Wassan as chairman of senior selection committee
Rajkumar Sharma, who was Delhi’s Under-23 coach in 2018 when it won the national title, also returns to the team after a season’s gap. “I am really excited to be part of the coaching set up for the senior team. I am aware of the expectations that come along with me and I will work hard with the bowling unit to deliver results this season. I have worked closely with most Delhi boys when I was part of age group teams and that would stand me in good stead,” Sharma said on his new role at the Ferozeshah Kotla.
Bhaskar and Sharma have Atul Wassan as chairman of the senior selection committee. All three are products of the iconic Delhi club – Sonnet.
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