It is unusual to see foreign coaches come to India, to coach domestic teams. But as per a report in Cricbuzz, Team Andhra is set to be coached by former NZ coach Gary Stead. The latter was at the helm of affairs when the Kiwi team went on to win the maiden ICC Test Championship.
Gary Stead to Coach Andhra
“We were initially looking at an Australian coach. Then a friend suggested, why not try Gary? So we reached out to him, and right from the very first conversation, we were struck by his preparedness. He came to the meeting with a complete understanding of our team,” ACA secretary Sana Sathish Babu told Cricbuzz.
It was under his reign that the team became no. 1 in Tests and also the ODI rankings. Then the team also went on to win the 2019 WC semis against India. Meanwhile, he is expected to reach Vizag by next week. It will be a two year contract. Stead will also have a look at the probable list, to select the team with the selectors.
Not the First Foreign Coach
Team Andhra has had a poor run in the last couple of years. Last Year, the finished sixth in the Elite Group B, winning only one match. As far as the Vijay Hazare Trophy is concerned, they finished fourth in the group, and in SMAT, lost in the pre-quarters. This year, Andhra got rid of Hanuma Vihari, while Ricky Bhui was named the skipper.
They will have Saurabh Kumar in their team, who has come from UP as a guest player. That said, this won’t be the first time that a foreign coach has come to coach a Ranji team. Intikhab Alam had coached Punjab two decades back, Michael Bevan was with Odisha, Dav Whatmore with Kerala and Baroda, and Lance Klusener with Tripura.
