PCA also considers Amarnath

The PCA officials maintain that acirc;euro;tilde;only a verbal offer has been made to Sandhu while denying reports in a certain section of the press regarding his acirc;euro;tilde;appointment.

quot;It is true that we were very impressed with Balwinder Sandhu8217;s style when he was here with our boys for the off-season camp last month and offered him to the job of PCA8217;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.

However, Sandhu is said to be having some problems with the MCA. Though, he has been Mumbai8217;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 semi-final 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 quot;unnecessarily making senior players like Sameer Dighe sit out, has only fuelled the atmosphere there.

It may be remembered that Punjab8217;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 andhis role as coach.

With PCA equally keen, the onus now shifts to Sandhu. PCA will know about Sandhu8217;s status one Mumbai announce their coach, which is expected next week.