Former Indian all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar has been appointed the coach of UP Ranji team for the next two years with immediate effect. Besides that the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association has also roped in the services of former Zimbabwean all-rounder Heath Streak as a consultant for their UPCA Academy in Kanpur.
Prabhakar, who played 39 Tests and 130 ODIs for the country, was touted as the best man to take the job. Considering the young pace brigade of UP’s team, Prabhakar was seen by many as the ideal man for this job as he knows them well and also has the experience of coaching . He is a resident of Delhi which is not far away from Kanpur. After a lot of discussion, the UPCA concluded that he was the right candidate for the job.
The former fast bowler has had coaching stints with Delhi and Rajasthan previously. While he was the bowling coach for Delhi, he served as the head coach of Rajasthan. He was also the bowling coach of Afghanistan when they competed in the ICC World Twenty20 2016.
The current crop of UP players consists of Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and the likes of Piyush Chawla. With many new pacers in the mix, Prabhakar’s addition will help them learn faster and instil discipline in the side.
“We had chat with Manoj and asked him about his vision, what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. We want him to improve our bowling and at the same time, the batting too. He has been aggressive and the UP team has a lot of international players playing the domestic season. Manoj will maintain the discipline in this team,” IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said following the appointment of the 53-year-old.
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