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Journalism of Courage
After much dilly-dallying, the BCCI has finally zeroed in on a suitable replacement for Venkatesh Prasad as the India Under-19 coach: Lalchand Rajput.
Mumbai-based Rajput, currently the coaching director of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore, will formally take charge of a new-look U-19 team tomorrow, after the team for the upcoming England tour gets picked on the sidelines of the Hemu Adhikari Trophy. BCCI sources reckon that Rajput was the frontrunner for the top job after previous favourite Chandrakant Pandit was roped in by Maharashtra for domestic engagements.
“Rajput will formally be named the U-19 coach tomorrow after the squad for the England series is picked in Bangalore,” a BCCI insider told The Indian Express this evening. As for the captain’s job for the July-August England tour, southpaw opener from Lucknow Tanmoy Srivastav holds the edge, with Kaul and Jharkhand left-arm spinner Nadeem also in the fray. Daring Uttar Pradesh batsman Ravikant Shukla led the colts till the World Cup, in which India finished runners-up.
