After a rejection from Punjab, former Australian speedster Shaun Tait has applied for the vacant Kerala head coach role.
As per a report, Shaun Tait is one of the ten applicants to become Kerala’s head coach. As M Venkataramana stepped down as Kerala head coach amid personal reasons, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is in search of a new head coach ahead of the upcoming 2024-25 domestic season.
After announcing his international retirement in 2017, Shaun Tait was appointed as a bowling consultant to the Afghanistan national cricket team but resigned at the end of the same year. In the next year, he was roped in as a bowling coach for 12 months by Pakistan Cricket Board(PCB).
Before applying for the Kerala head coach role, Tait applied for the Punjab head coach but was pipped by Wasim Jaffer.
“We have received over 45 applicants for the head coach role of the Punjab senior team. Two of the prominent names are former India opener Wasim Jaffer and former Australia speedster Shaun Tait. The process is still underway, and we will announce the name by next week,” a Punjab Cricket Association official was quoted as saying by IE last month.
Speaking of the Kerala cricket team, they are still in the hunt for their first Ranji title since their debut in the 1957–58 Ranji Trophy season. Nearly six decades later, Kerala progressed to the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy for the first time, when they finished second in Group B of the 2017–18 tournament.
Their best came out in the 2018–19 season where they advanced to the semifinals after beating former champions Gujarat in quarters.
Kerala have to pick an extraordinary coach for their growth in the upcoming seasons. KCA have to shortlist their next head coach soon as the Indian domestic season is set to start with the Duleep Trophy next month while the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 will get underway from October 11, with the final slated for February 26.
