NEW DELHI: Former India A and U-19 fielding coach Abhay Sharma has been appointed as the head coach of the Delhi cricket team ahead of the domestic season beginning October 11.
Former India spinner and selector Sarandeep Singh was another strong contender for the job but Rohan Jaitley led DDCA has gone ahead with Sharma, who has more coaching experience.
The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Nikhil Chopra, Gursharan Singh and Reema Malhotra had recommended Sharma’s name to the president.
Former India selector Gagan Khoda has been appointed chief selector of the senior team, while former India pacer Pankaj Singh has been appointed head coach of U-25 side.
Anil Bhardwaj and Mayank Sadana are the other new faces in the senior selection panel.
“Abhay Sharma has been chosen as the head coach of the senior team,” said a DDCA source.
Sharma has worked extensively with India A, India U-19 and most recently the national women’s team.
The 53-year-old, who played 89 first-class games representing Delhi, Railways and Rajasthan, was also the fielding coach of the Indian team which travelled to Zimbabwe in 2016. He also travelled with the Indian team on the tour of the USA and the West Indies in the same year.
With Delhi scheduled to open their Syed Mushtaq Ali campaign against Manipur, Sharma has less than two weeks to work with the squad which is yet to be announced.
A lot of dilly dallying took place before the DDCA zeroed in on Sharma.
“It should have happened at least two weeks ago. So many teams have already announced their squads,” said another source.
Delhi had a forgettable last season when they failed to qualify for the knockouts of all three competitions — Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare and Ranji Trophy.
The team was coached by Raj Kumar Sharma last season and captained by Pradeep Sangwan.
Former India spinner and selector Sarandeep Singh was another strong contender for the job but Rohan Jaitley led DDCA has gone ahead with Sharma, who has more coaching experience.
The Cricket Advisory Committee comprising Nikhil Chopra, Gursharan Singh and Reema Malhotra had recommended Sharma’s name to the president.
Former India selector Gagan Khoda has been appointed chief selector of the senior team, while former India pacer Pankaj Singh has been appointed head coach of U-25 side.
Anil Bhardwaj and Mayank Sadana are the other new faces in the senior selection panel.
“Abhay Sharma has been chosen as the head coach of the senior team,” said a DDCA source.
Sharma has worked extensively with India A, India U-19 and most recently the national women’s team.
The 53-year-old, who played 89 first-class games representing Delhi, Railways and Rajasthan, was also the fielding coach of the Indian team which travelled to Zimbabwe in 2016. He also travelled with the Indian team on the tour of the USA and the West Indies in the same year.
With Delhi scheduled to open their Syed Mushtaq Ali campaign against Manipur, Sharma has less than two weeks to work with the squad which is yet to be announced.
A lot of dilly dallying took place before the DDCA zeroed in on Sharma.
“It should have happened at least two weeks ago. So many teams have already announced their squads,” said another source.
Delhi had a forgettable last season when they failed to qualify for the knockouts of all three competitions — Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare and Ranji Trophy.
The team was coached by Raj Kumar Sharma last season and captained by Pradeep Sangwan.
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