New Kenya men’s cricket team coach Dodda Ganesh has said that his main mission is to guide the team back to the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup.
Cricket Kenya (CK) Tuesday unveiled the 51-year-old former India international at the Sikh Union Club on a one-year contract which is open to extension.
Ganesh, who boasts of 25 years of experience, said he is excited to be named Kenyan coach and that through teamwork and support from CK, he is confident Kenya will again qualify for the global championship.
“My first vision is to qualify for the World Cup,” quipped the coach moments after being unveiled by CK Chief Executive Officer Ronald Bukusi.
Kenya boasts of five ICC World Cup appearances; four One Day International (ODI) -- 1996, 1999, 2003, and 2011 and one T20 (2007). From a high of reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup in the longer version of the game, Kenyan cricket has witnessed a steady decline, amid leadership wrangles and mismanagement.
But Ganesh, Who played four Tests for India, believes the fallen giant will rise under his tutelage.
“Kenya participated in the World Cup in 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. I saw the dedication and the hard work. I don’t know what happened between the 10 years to now, but I do not want to talk about history. Positively what I see is that Kenyans are champions,” said the experienced coach.
He will be deputised by former Kenya internationals Lameck Onyango and Joseph Angara. The duo have been the team’s coach and assistant coach respectively but in an acting capacity.
Ganesh's first assignment as Kenya’s coach will be in the ICC World Cup Challenge League slated for September 10 to 23 in Nairobi.
Papua New Guinea, Denmark, Kuwait, Jersey, and Qatar will feature in the competition, which is the first stage of the qualifiers for the 2027 ICC Men’s World Cup (ODI).
Even though Ganesh reckons that he has a short time to prepare the team for the competition, he is confident of getting the job done thanks to cooperation with other members of the technical bench.
He added that he was impressed with the talent in the country having watched Kenyan matches on YouTube and attended some of the ongoing club competitions.
“I’m a professional coach and before coming here, I went to YouTube to watch the bowlers and batsmen, and I can say that they are in good shape,” said Ganesh, who was part of the Karnataka Cricket Team (eight-time Indian Premier League champions) that toured Kenya in 1999 and 2000.
Bukusi said CK will ensure the team plays more matches to increase their chances of qualifying for the World Cup.
“As part of our job in the administration, we will try and look for more games so that they play throughout the year,” said the CEO.
