Following the departure of Arun Lal from the post of head coach of the Bengal Cricket team, former India and Bengal cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla has been selected by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) as the new head coach for the domestic side.
After Bengal's loss during the semis of the last Ranji Trophy tournament, the Cricket Association of Bengal was looking for someone to lead the side, with the likes of Wasim Jaffer and Andy Flower coming up as options. But the final choice was Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who is also a former captain of Bengal, has played for the team for a long time, and also has the experience of playing for India.
Under Arun Lal's tutelage, Bengal lost the final and semifinals of the Ranji Trophy in consecutive seasons. Once the speculations of replacing Arun Lal came to the fore, the former cricketer himself put in his resignation papers on July 11.
After resigning as the coach of Bengal, Arun Lal told India Today in an Exclusive chat, "I am tired. It is no longer possible for me to handle this responsibility for nine months. Physically I can't anymore. So, I informed the CAB that I no longer want to be the coach of Bengal."
According to many within the Bengal cricket board, the CAB believe that Laxmi Ratan can bring in the same aggressive attitude that he used when he played for the Bengali team.
In other reports emerging from the Bengal camp, the domestic team will be the first Indian domestic team to play in Namibia against Pakistan Super League side Lahore Qalanders. Officials of the CAB are expecting Bengal's performance will improve after the new coach takes the charge of the team, and his first assignment will be to down the Lahore-based Pakistani team in a set number of friendly matches that are yet to be confirmed.
