Published>Tue, Jul 06 10 04:47 AM
The much talked about Sahara Pune Warriors have opted for foreign cricketers of the yesteryears as their coaches. While Geoff Marsh, former Australian opener and coach of the Australian team which lifted the World Cup in 1999 will be the head coach of the team, former England all-rounder Dermot Reeva has been appointed as assistant coach of the Sahara Pune Warriors, the Pune franchise of the IPL.
The announcement was done by Subrata Roy, chairman of the Sahara India in the presence of both Geoff Marsh and Dermot Reeva at Lucknow.
When asked why no Indian cricketers were included as coaches, Subrata Roy explained, "We did consider eight names, including two Indians, but in the interest of the team we selected the best names available in terms of the cricketing background, their achievements as coaches, etc."
Regarding his plans for the composition of the team and the possibility of junior cricketers from UP featuring in the list, Roy said that UP has produced some very good players and there are many talented juniors here too. "We will be having above 35 players. Definitely UP talent will get priority."
He said that the role of the Sahara Pune Warriors will not be limited to just IPL but the players and coaches will be visiting different countries where there is craze for the cricket so that the team can contribute throughout the world in the promotion of the game.
Regarding his desire to have legendry cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar in the team, he said, " Definitely, we want some reputed cricketers in the team. But things can only happen as per rules of the event. As such we have proposed strongly to the BCCI that we would like to have a level playing field. We want an open auction to take place so that all teams are strong and a good competition takes place."
He reiterated that Sahara went for Pune because in UP, "Kanpur was the only choice and many players feel that it is troublesome to reach the city after a long drive. The infrastructure there is also not up to the mark. As far as Lucknow is concerned, we do not have a right stadium here. The Pune stadium has a 58,000 capacity."
"We are happy to know that UP government has decided to built a good stadium in Lucknow. We have also taken the papers for the same. After the stadium comes up, we would love to have action in Lucknow also," he added.
He accepted that cricket does bring India and Pakistan together emotionally but said the participation of Pak players in the IPL does not depend on him.
Speaking on the occasion Geoff Marsh said that as a team coach he would do his best to bring the best cricketers of the word together and make them gel. "Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist have shown that coaches and captains have a major role to play in the IPL."
Marsh said that in a lighter vein that like his famous partnerships with David Boon as a batsman, he is looking for a successful combination with Dermot Reeve in coaching now. IPL seems to be a family affair for Geoff now. In the IPL, Geoff's elder son Shaun Marsh played for Kings XI Punjab while younger son Mitchell Marsh made an impression for Deccan Chargers.
Source: Web Search
0 comments:
Post a Comment