It is common to have foreign coaches in the Indian Premier League. The inclusion of foreign cricketers and the high stakes involved are the reasons for it. However, it is almost rare to witness foreign coaches in the Ranji Trophy. In this article, we take a look at six foreigners who have been Head Coach of Ranji Teams.
With only Indian players in Ranji Teams and all the pitches being subcontinent, it is usually not logical to hire a foreign Head Coach. However, as we have seen in the past, there is more to coaching than just man-management and picking the XI’s. Hence, a few foreigners have made it to Ranji Trophy as a coach. We look at a few of them in the below headings.
1) Dav Whatmore (Australia) – Kerala
Dav Whatmore is one of the most popular foreigners who have been Head Coach of Ranji Teams. He has coached nations such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the past. In fact, when he was at the helm, Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996. Currently, he is the Head Coach of Nepal. For the 2017-18 season, the Sri Lankan-born Aussie cricketer was appointed as the coach of Kerala. Under him, the team reached the quarter-finals of Ranji for the very first time. Kerala has been doing well since then.
2) Michael Bevan (Australia) – Orissa
Michael Bevan was named as the coach of Orissa for the 2011-12 season. Bevan is a popular name in international cricket. He is one of the best finishers that the game has seen. However, Bevan’s stint with Orissa did not go well. While he had to endure a poor Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign, he was later replaced by Debasis Mohanty after Bevan wanted to visit Australia for personal work.
3) Intikhab Alam (Pakistan) – Punjab
Intikhab Alam happens to be the first foreigner to coach a Ranji Team. In 2004, he became the coach of Punjab in the Ranji season. He played a total of 47 Tests for the country and has also held the position of manager with the Pakistan Team.
4) Darren Holder (Australia) – Maharashtra
Darren Holder is the second foreigner after Alam to coach a Ranji Team. He became the coach of the Maharashtra side in 2005. This appointment coincided with Greg Chappell’s time with Team India. Holder holds a degree in bachelor of health science from Griffith University and was known to be technically advanced.
5) Shaun Williams (Australia) – Maharashtra
Maharashtra carried forward the tradition of appointing coaches from abroad. Shaun Williams was yet another foreign coach appointed, who was at the helm for four years. He had a stint in Australia and was once the interim coach of Bangladesh. It was then that he got a chance to coach in India.
6) Dermot Reeve (England) – Maharashtra
Former English all-rounder Dermot Reeve is one of the foreigners who have been Head Coach of Ranji Teams. He replaced Shaun Williams as the coach of Maharashtra. However, under him, the team did not do well. He was later replaced by Surendra Bhave after Reeve had a health issue.
