Whatmore, Amre coaches for Challenger Trophy

It8217;s not just about Yuvraj Singh versus Mohammad Kaif, or S Badrinath against Cheteshwar Pujara.

It8217;s not just about Yuvraj Singh versus Mohammad Kaif, or S Badrinath against Cheteshwar Pujara. The upcoming NKP Salve Challenger Trophy is also a battle for supremacy among India8217;s high-profile coaching aspirants-Dave Whatmore, Praveen Amre, and the lesser-known Bharati Arun.

All three veterans are seasoned campaigners associated with the National Cricket Academy NCA in Bangalore. And they will now be spearheading the three teams in the Challenger Trophy to be played in Cuttack next week.

Whatmore has been picked coach of the India Blue team, which will be led by Yuvraj Singh. Praveen Amre will be the coach of the India Reds, whose captain is Badrinath. And the India Green side, with Kaif as their skipper, will have Arun as coach, sources in the BCCI told The Indian Express.

The three teams will take each other on in a round-robin basis in day-night 50-overs-a-side matches, and the tournament will be played at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack from October 23 to 26.

Whatmore8217;s induction into the high-profile tournament as coach of one of the teams has added colour to the event, which serves as an annual platform for the national selectors to get a hang of the fringe talent in the country. The former Sri Lanka coach, who revolutionised the island country8217;s performance in modern-day cricket before taking up the Bangladesh job, is currently associated with the NCA as its coaching director.

Amre, the India Reds coach, too has been around as a popular coach for years now, having served as the Under-19 India coach at successful ventures.

Arun, meanwhile, has been coach of the Tamil Nadu and Bengal senior sides in the Ranji Trophy, and is currently the bowling coach of the NCA.

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The Challenger Trophy will be played alongside the more intensively followed India-Australia Test series. But the Krisnamachari Srikkanth-led selection committee and the BCCI top brass will closely follow the action in Cuttack. The tournament is expected to help the selectors out in spotting talent ahead of the coming India-England home series in November-December.