Jimmy in race for Punjab cricket coach

CHANDIGARH, July 30: While the appointment of Balwinder Sandhu as coach of Punjab Ranji Trophy team hangs fire, former Test all-rounder M...

CHANDIGARH, July 30: While the appointment of Balwinder Sandhu as coach of Punjab Ranji Trophy team hangs fire, former Test all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath is also being sounded out for the job. “If things with Balwinder Sandhu do not work out, we will request Amarnath. The matter will be finalised in the next month’s AGM,” MP Pandove, secretary of the Punjab Cricket Association said.

The PCA officials maintain that only a verbal offer’ has been made to Sandhu while denying reports in a certain section of the press regarding his appointment’. “It is true that we were very impressed with Balwinder Sandhu’s style when he was here with our boys for the off-season camp last month and offered him the job of PCA’s professional coach. He, too, appeared keen and said that he would let us know in some time, after talking to his employers (Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers) and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). We are waiting for his reply and if it is positive, we will proceed with further negotiations,”Pandove, said.

Meanwhile, Sandhu, who does not have a contract with MCA, said his priority would be to serve Mumbai and only if they replaced him with another coach, would he take up the PCA offer.

Story continues below this ad

However, Sandhu is said to be having some problems with the MCA. Though, he has been Mumbai’s coach for the past few years, MCA charged him Rs five lakhs as rent for his benefit match at Wankhede Stadium. Also, the loss to Uttar Pradesh in Ranji Trophy semifinal did not go well with the authorities there. That, coupled, with the fact that Sandhu has been opposed by a faction of the association for “unnecessarily making senior players like Sameer Dighe sit out,” has only fuelled the atmosphere there.

“Talks with Dr Tej Kaul (physiotherapist, Sports Authority of India), to look after the team’s fitness, are also going on. See, we want our team to be among the top teams of the country. The last couple of seasons were rather dismal so we realised that we needed a professional coach and a physiotherapist for that. The door is still wide open for both Sandhu and Tej Kaul,” Pandove further said.

It may be remembered that Punjab’s performance in Ranji Trophy has been on a downward slide ever since Bishan Singh Bedi was removed as coach. His successor Daljit Singh is an advisory coach, making way for former Punjab skipper Bhupinder Singh (Sr), who is finding it extremely difficult to divide time between office and his role as coach.

With PCA equally keen, the onus now shifts to Sandhu. PCA will know about Sandhu’s status once Mumbai announce their coach, which is expected next week.

Top