Some officials in the Mumbai Cricket Association want Sandeep Patil back as chief selector
Mumbai Indians coach John Wright (left) and Sandeep Patil watch a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match at BKC ground on Sunday. Pic/PTI
It is going to be an eventful time for the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) as the Managing Committee is set to decide the coach of the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team and a new set of selectors on April 7.
Mumbai Indians coach John Wright (left) and Sandeep Patil watch a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match at BKC ground on Sunday. Pic/PTI
Lalchand Rajput is a stop-gap arrangement for the remainder of the season after the MCA decided to replace Sulakshan Kulkarni. The Deepak Jadhav-led selection panel whose contract ended on March 31 would be replaced with a new committee for senior cricket.
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The buzz is that the MCA is hell-bent on having former chief selector Sandeep Patil back as the selection panel head. The former India batting star, who is also India's selection committee chief, had resigned as MCA's chief selector in April last year after being unable to give enough time to watch local cricket.
Plans in place
Interestingly, it is learnt some MCA officials also devised a plan for Patil wherein he would not have to watch all local matches. Instead, he would only have to go through the list of talented players that need to be assessed.
However, the MCA has not had any official communication with Patil. MCA's Joint Honorary Secretary Nitin Dalal was non-committal. "The Managing Committee will discuss and decide all the appointments.
We cannot comment on anything right now," he said. Considering his Mumbai roots, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Patil takes up the MCA role again to help his first domestic team to come out shinning in the next season after a dismal show in 2013-14.
Mumbai won almost all titles in 2012-13 but were shocked in the quarter-final of the Ranji Trophy this time around. They did not qualify for the knockout round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-dayers. In the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament for West Zone, Mumbai have won two out of their three games.
Several contenders
Meanwhile, there are several names doing the rounds for the coach of the senior team. Apart from Rahul Mankad and Sairaj Bahutule, former Mumbai coach Praveen Amre, current selector Paras Mhambrey and Mumbai stalwart Amol Muzumdar are also in the fray.
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