Former India bowler Sanjeev Sharma to coach Arunachal

Arunachal Pradesh

Former India pace bowler Sanjeev Sharma has been appointed coach of the Arunachal Pradesh team for the upcoming domestic season. Sanjeev had been coach of the Sikkim team last season and has coached Delhi in the past.

According to Sportstar, the Arunachal Pradesh Cricket Association had initially decided to give an extension to Gursharan Singh, who coached them last season. However, Gursharan was recently named coach of Uttarakhand.

"We apprised the BCCI about the issue and sought its help in getting a replacement. There is not much time in hand and we are glad to welcome Sharma on board," ACA secretary, Kabak Geda, told Sportstar.

Arunachal will be hoping to improve on their performance from the debut season. They were winless in the Ranji Trophy, won two games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and one in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.

Under Sanjeev's tenure, Sikkim went winless in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but performed better in the Ranji Trophy, securing four wins in eight matches in the plate group.

Uttar Pradesh

Former India spinner Sunil Joshi has been appointed coach of the Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy team for one year, according to PTI. He is set to join the training camp on September 20 before the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on September 24

Joshi, who served as Bangladesh's spin-bowling coach till the World Cup, had applied for the position of India's bowling coach but was not shortlisted.

"We have appointed Sunil Joshi as coach of our team for one year. He will join the camp before the Vijay Hazare Trophy," Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association secretary Yudhvir Singh told PTI.

Former Karnataka fast bowler Mansur Ali Khan had coached the side last season. UP won their maiden, and only, Ranji Trophy title in 2005-06 and have been runners-up five times. They made the quarter-finals last season where they were beaten by Saurashtra.

Uttarakhand

Gursharan Singh has been named the coach of Uttarakhand for the upcoming domestic season, replacing KP Bhaskar, who has returned to take charge of the Delhi team.

Gursharan, 56, who turned out for Delhi and Punjab in domestic cricket and played one Test and one ODI in 1990, is a prominent coach in Delhi, and has been involved with various state teams since 2007, when he coached Punjab. He has since worked with Assam and, more recently, Arunachal Pradesh.

"I am excited to take my new job," he was quoted as saying by the Hindu. "I know Uttarakhand has a lot of young talent and the team did well last year under Bhaskar's guidance. The team has a wonderful captain in Unmukt [Chand, who shifted this year]. He has a good cricket brain and I am looking forward to work with him."

Last season, their maiden one in the domestic circuit, Uttarakhand topped the Plate Group of the Ranji Trophy, but then lost by an innings and 115 runs to Vidarbha, the eventual champions, in the quarter-finals. They had some decent results in the Vijay Hazare (one-day) Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy too. In the 50-over tournament, they came second in the Plate Group with seven wins and a loss, while in the T20s, they had four wins in seven matches.

Delhi

The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association has re-signed former Delhi batsman KP Bhaskar as head coach of the senior team for the 2019-20 season. Bhaskar, a veteran of 95 first-class matches, helmed debutants Uttarakhand to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals last season. Rajkumar Sharma, meanwhile, has been named the bowling coach. Sharma, an offspinning allrounder, played nine first-class matches for Delhi but is famously remembered for being Virat Kohli's childhood coach.

Bhaskar had left Delhi in controversial circumstances in 2018 after then captain Gautam Gambhir criticised him for "creating an atmosphere of uncertainty" in the dressing room. Incidentally, it was a season where they finished runners-up to Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy.

With just one win in eight games, Delhi finished bottom of Group B in 2018-19 Ranji Trophy under Mithun Mahnas. They, however, finished runners-up to Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 50-overs competition. Atul Wassan, the former India bowler, has been named the selection committee chief of the senior team.

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Mumbai

Earlier in the week, after months of speculation, Mumbai named Vinayak Samant, the former wicketkeeper, as head coach under controversial circumstances after Sulakshan Kulkarni alleged he wasn't given a fair contract. Under the initial agreement, the Mumbai Cricket Association was to pay Kulkarni a fee of INR 24 lakh for the season. This was later whittled to INR 14 lakh, which Kulkarni rejected.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu have appointed former allrounder D Vasu as their head coach, with former captain R Prasanna as his assistant. Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has been appointed captain for the upcoming 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Vasu replaced Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the former India allrounder who has moved on to a coaching role at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Vasu scored 3001 runs and picked up 240 wickets during the course of his 15-year first-class career.

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Puducherry

Former Karnataka captain R Vinay Kumar has ended his 15-year career with his home state and will instead turn out for Puducherry in a player-cum-mentor role in the 2019-20 season. Vinay will link up with his old friend J Arunkumar at Puducherry.

Vinay and Arunkumar formed Karnataka's leadership group when they won successive Ranji titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. They also led Karnataka to the Vijay Hazare and Irani titles, establishing the side as a domestic powerhouse.

Having reportedly turned down an offer from his home state Tamil Nadu and moved from Kerala, wicketkeeper-batsman Arun Karthik will join Vinay at Puducherry.

Former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand has parted ways with Delhi after making his first-class debut for them in November 2010. Chand has now signed with Uttarakhand and will captain them in the upcoming domestic season. Meanwhile, offspin-bowling allrounder Malolan Rangarajan, who helped Uttarakhand to the knockouts in the previous season, is set to move back to his home state Tamil Nadu.

Other movements

Allrounder Stuart Binny and wicketkeeper-batsman CM Gautam, who were part of Karnataka's core along with Vinay when they secured the double-treble, have also opted to move out of their home state this season. Binny will join his former Karnataka team-mate Rongsen Jonathan at Nagaland, while Gautam has switched to Goa.

Among prominent coaches, Sairaj Bahutule has ended his stint with Bengal, and will coach Gujarat, while Sanath Kumar moved from Meghalaya to Baroda.