Former India international and fast bowler, Dodda Ganesh, has been appointed as the new head coach of the Kenya cricket team.
The Kenyan cricket board had announced his appointment in a welcome ceremony. He took to social media platform X (formerly twitter) to share the news, saying: "Privileged to be named the head coach of the Kenya cricket team."
Privileged to be named the head coach of the Kenya cricket team. https://t.co/SHVUFFjzrL
— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) August 14, 2024
Dodda's first assignment as Kenya coach will be matches against Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Denmark and Jersey in the ICC Division 2 Challenge League in September, followed by the Africa Qualifiers in October, for the T20 World Cup 2026.
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Who is Dodda Ganesh?
Dodda Narasiah Ganesh, aged 51, is a former India fast bowler, hailing from Bengaluru, in the state of Karnataka.
He has played 4 Tests and one ODI for the country, with a record of 6 wickets in 5 matches.
He played in an era where the Karnataka team had plenty of superstars in the form of Javgal Srinath, Anil Kumble, and Venkatesh Prasad. He has picked up over 360 wickets in first class domestic matches.
Later, he took up a political career with JDS party under the leadership former Prime Minister of India H. D. Deve Gowda. In 2012, he left politics to take up the role of a cricket coach in Goa.
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Speaking in a press conference at the Sikh Union Club, where he was unveiled as the new head coach, he said that his main vision for the Kenyan national team is to help them qualify for the T20 World Cup in 2026.
"My first vision is to qualify for the World Cup," he said as he takes over a Kenya team that has historically been a part of four ODI World Cups in 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2011, and one T20 World Cup in 2007.
"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,” he added.
"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," the 51-year-old concluded.
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