PANAJI
The Goa Cricket Association (GCA) has named former India international Dinesh Mongia as the new head coach of the senior men’s team for the upcoming season, while J.P. Yadav has been named the U-23 coach.
The 47-year old Mongia, who represented India in 57 ODIs and a solitary T20I from 2001 - 2007, served as the coach of Odisha during last season.
Yadav, another India international, will replace former Goa captain Swapnil Asnodkar as the new U-23 coach, and the state association hopes that his experience of playing for the national team and also coaching teams like Railways will benefit the young players.
Goa had a disastrous last Ranji season wherein the Goan side finished 31 st among 32 teams and was relegated to the Plate division.
Meanwhile, GCA has decided to continue with Arjun Tendulkar and K.V. Siddharth as professional players, while Rohan Kadam has been added as the third outstation player in the side. Rahul Tripathi, who played for Goa last year, will return to Maharashtra for the upcoming season.
A majority of the GCA apex council members decided to give another term to Arjun, son of the legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 258 runs and claimed nine wickets during last Ranji season.
