Pritam Gandhe, a former Air India cricketer, claimed 340 wickets in 100 first-class games
Ajay Ratra
In a surprising development, former India stumper Ajay Ratra, who represented Haryana and ex-Vidarbha off-spinner Pritam Gandhe are also in the fray to become the next head coach of the Mumbai team. And while there are two wicketkeepers – Ratra and Mumbai man Vinayak Samant and two off-spinners Gandhe and Ramesh Powar – who have applied for the post, it is learnt that former Mumbai under-19 coach Vinod Raghavan and former Maharashtra player Nandan Phadnis, have also thrown their hats in the ring.
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Ratra, who played six Tests and 12 ODIs, scored 4029 runs and had 260 victims in 99 first-class games, coached the Punjab Ranji Trophy team last season. "If I do get an opportunity to coach the Mumbai team, I will strive to provide them a good atmosphere for practice. It is very necessary to have a good ambiance in the dressing room. It is important for each player to execute his role efficiently and play as a team," Ratra told mid-day from Faridabad. Earlier, he was Assam's under-19 coach when they beat Mumbai U-19 by 119 runs in a Cooch Behar Trophy league match in December 2016.
Gandhe, a former Air India cricketer, claimed 340 wickets in 100 first-class games. He coached the Vidarbha Ranji Trophy team in 2010 before becoming a match referee. He was also part of the national junior selection committee from 2011 to 2015. "I came to Mumbai at the age of 16. Vasu sir [Paranjape] and [Hemant] Hadkar sir coached me at the Matunga ground. I used to play the Kanga League for Dadar Union along with Dilip Vengsarkar and other top cricketers. Mumbai taught me what 'khadoos' cricket is. If given a chance, I just want to rebuild that essence in Mumbai cricket, something which I think is missing nowadays," Gandhe said.
Also Read: Ramesh Powar is top contender for Mumbai coach job
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