Former India cricketer Lalchand Rajput has been named as the head coach of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) men's team for a duration of three years, taking over from Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar.
Rajput's initial task with the team will be leading them in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series against Scotland and Canada, which is set to take place in the UAE from February 28. This will be followed by a three-match T20I series against Scotland at home in the following month.
UAE failed to qualify for T20 World Cup
The appointment of the 62-year-old Rajput comes after the UAE failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in the West Indies and the USA later this year.
"UAE has emerged as one of the stronger Associate Members in recent years, and the players have put in some good performances in both ODIs and T20Is. The current batch is exceptionally talented, and I look forward to working with them and further harnessing their cricket skills," Rajput, who played two Tests and four ODIs for India, said in an Emirates Cricket Board release on February 21.
UAE cricket has a very bright future: Rajput
"I am confident that the boys, buoyed by their exposure to top-quality cricket and practice facilities here in Dubai, will continue to prosper. UAE cricket has a very bright future and my goal would be to make the team perform more consistently and take them to the next level which I am very confident they are fully capable of," he added.
Rajput served as India's coach during their successful campaign in winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. He also coached Afghanistan from 2016 to 2017, during which the ICC awarded the country Test status.
His most recent coaching role was with Zimbabwe from 2018 to 2022. Under his guidance, the team qualified for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, where they advanced to the Super-12 stage.
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