Lalchand Rajput

[Mandrake]

Who is this guy and what is his role as assistant coach in the team?? Looks to be a 'sifarishi' candidate to me.Seems to be piggybacking on the team's success. http://cricket.indiatimes.com/News/Interviews/Lucky_mascot_Rajput_looks_to_the_future/articleshow/2843456.cms

[Desi Cartman]

his nickname is Laali :cantstop:

[Indus_Army]

Who is this guy and what is his role as assistant coach in the team?? Looks to be a 'sifarishi' candidate to me.Seems to be piggybacking on the team's success. http://cricket.indiatimes.com/News/Interviews/Lucky_mascot_Rajput_looks_to_the_future/articleshow/2843456.cms

Mandrake: Rajput is a typical "bits & pieces" player of the 80s and was a heavy scorer in domestic cricket, though he didn't have much success in the national colors. Being an all-rounder, he is experienced in more than one aspect of the game. He might have been a "sifarshi" candidate (though I doubt it), but I think he, along with the specialist coaches have done a great job so far. I wonder how Rajput's position will be treated when Kirsten comes along.

[fineleg]

'Lucky mascot' Rajput looks to the future TNN / Vinay Nayudu MELBOURNE, March 6: A man who has worn many hats in Indian cricket, Lalchand Rajput has been a lucky mascot in recent times. He led the Under-19 teams to a few memorable overseas wins, was the cricketing manager of the T20 World Cup winning team and now, returns home as the assistant coach of the team which made history in Australia. Excerpts from the interview: Amongst all your famous wins as manager and coach where would you place the triumph in Australia. This is as good as winning the World Cup. No other Indian team has done this and it was a big challenge to beat the world champions at home. We had a young side and people had doubts but we came up with the best answer. How tough was it? It was quite tough. Controversies refused to leave us and towards the end they were created to unsettle us. But despite the off-field distractions we kept our focus and emerged victors... it's like a slap on the faces of those who tried to trouble us. :two_thumbs_up: What was the difference in the Test and the tri-series? In both the series we were on top. We should've won the Test series 2-1 but there were occasions when we were robbed of our good chances. The Sydney episode left a lot of bitterness. In the tri-series, the youngsters took over and it was a fantastic switchover. How does it feel for a coach when prodigies like Ishant Sharma or Rohit Sharma come alive? It's a boon. You always want players with potential to excel on the big stage. I knew that a few of our youngsters had a lot of quality in them since I was also involved with the under-19 Indian team. I had spotted Ishant during the Pak tour and knew he would play for India and now he has come out with flying colours. Rohit Sharma has also shown that he is in a league of his own and so have Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla. For Piyush to be directly playing in the finals shows how mentally tough he is. How different have been the roles of coaches? Venkatesh Prasad took care of the bowlers and Robin Singh of fielding. It was a coordinated effort and I took care of batting and overall strategy. The aim was to get the players to perform to the best of their potential. During the Tests, Gary Kirsten came during the Perth Test for two matches. He had a very good look at the players. Gary will now work on a long-term plan. My planning was short term and I concentrated more on the execution being perfect. What's next up for you? My performance speaks for itself. I don't know what the future holds for me. It's up to BCCI to decide on my next role but I am ready to serve in any capacity so far as it is good for Indian cricket.