Ajay Ratra applies for the job of coach Mumbai | Cricket News

MUMBAI: Former Indian goalkeeper Ajay Ratra appeared as the surprise candidate in the race to be the new coach of Mumbai. Ratra played six tests and 12 ODIs for India, and was part of the winning team of the Under-19 World Cup in 2000. Ratra's application for the position is surprising since He played for Haryana, and Mumbai has never hired an outstation coach in their history. The 36-year-old trained Punjab last season. He has also coached at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

"If given the opportunity, I would love to coach Mumbai, it will be an honor to do so, because Mumbai cricket is at the heart of Indian cricket," Ratra told TOI Wednesday.

Overall, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has received six applications for the post of Mumbai coach. Outside of Ratra, the other candidates are ex-Indian smuggler Ramesh Powar, former Mumbai goalkeeper Vinayak Samant, former cricketer Vidarbha Pritam Gandhe and Vinod Raghavan. The sixth name is not yet clear. Tuesday was the last date for requests from the senior and junior coach of Mumbai.

During her long-time first-clbad career from 1995 to 2012, Samant played for Assam, Mumbai and Tripura before turning to coaching. Known as a gutsy cricket player, Samant was part of several Ranji triumphs during his eight seasons for Mumbai. In 101 CF games, he scored 3,496 [email protected], with 22 fifties and two hundred. His best score was 200 not out.

Aged 45, he coached the Under-23 team from Mumbai and was responsible for developing young talents like Jay Bista and Akash Parkar.