IPL 2018: CSK appoint Rajiv Kumar as fielding coach

Two-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings have appointed former Bihar and Jharkhand captain Rajiv Kumar as their fielding coach ahead of the 2018 IPL. Rajiv even captained CSK skipper MS Dhoni at Bihar and Jharkhand before the wicketkeeper-batsman made his debut for the national team.

The 41-year-old will replace Steve Rixon as the Men in Yellow's fielding coach and will join the likes of Stephen Fleming, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Mike Hussey, Lakshmi Narayanan etc. in the CSK dugout during the IPL. He already joined the squad a couple of days ago and was seen executing specialised fielding drills for the players.

One of the main reasons for Rajiv's appointment is that both him and Dhoni have played together for Bihar/Jharkhand for quite a few years and they share an excellent camaraderie. Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan said that the reason behind appointing Rajiv is because he has a great rapport with Dhoni and at the same time, he brings in certain skills as a fielding coach and has good coaching experience in the Indian domestic circuit. Adding to this, he has sound knowledge of the local talents.

"Dhoni has a great rapport with him and knows him since his playing days. With Rixon not there, we felt the need for an extra hand during the pre-season training camp and during the tournament. So, we went with Rajiv. He brings to the table certain specific skills as fielding coach. He has good coaching experience, he bonds well with the players and he has sound knowledge about local talents," Kasi told ToI.

Rajiv has a fair amount of coaching experience in the United Kingdom and was the coach of Jharkhand last season. He was also the coach of India Blue in the Deodhar Trophy that took place earlier this year.

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