Domestic cricket stalwarts Wasim Jaffer, Amol Muzumdar, former India spinner Sairaj Bahutule and ex-Mumbai coach Sulakshan Kulkarni have applied to become the next Mumbai coach, for the post vacated by Ramesh Powar.
The Mumbai Cricket Association had last week sought applications for the post of the coach of the Mumbai senior team and laid down eligibility criteria, which included that the applicant should have played 50-class matches.
Monday was the last date to apply and according to a senior MCA official, Kulkarni, Muzumdar and Bahutule were among the prominent names who have applied for the post. Former India pacer Balwinder Singh Sandhu, a member of the 1983 World Cup Winning India team, has also applied for the post, for which a total of nine candidates are reported to be in the fray.
Jaffer, Ranji Trophy’s most prolific run-getter, is a heavyweight candidate with 31 Tests. He was part of the Punjab Kings set-up in the Indian Premier League most recently.
Muzumdar, a former Mumbai captain under whom the team won the coveted Ranji Trophy, has been a batting coach with the NCA, IPL team Rajasthan Royals, the South African team. He is also a well-known commentator. He scored 11,167 first class runs in a career that spanned a couple of decades.
Bahutule, who played two Tests and eight ODIs for India, is a domestic stalwart, having played 188 first-class games, in which he picked 630 wickets. He has coached Vidarbha, Kerala, Bengal and has been Gujarat’s coach for the past two seasons.
Last season, Mumbai had appointed Amit Pagnis as the coach for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but he stepped down after the team’s disastrous show. The cricket body then named former India off-spinner Ramesh Powar as the head coach for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which the domestic giants lifted.
Powar was recently named the coach of the Indian women’s national team.
In the past, Mumbai have won the coveted Ranji Trophy for a record 41 times.
Pacer Pradeep Sunderram, Nandan Phadnis, Umesh Patwal and Vinod Raghvan are among the other names.
