The New Zealand Cricket has added former Sri Lanka Spinner Rangana Herath and Former Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour to their coaching setup ahead of the one-off test against Afghanistan starting on September 09.
Herath has been appointed as the spin bowling coach for the upcoming three tests replacing Pakistani coach Saqlain Mushtaq who was set to fill in the interim role before pulling out to take up a position in the Pakistan Cricket Board.
On the other hand, Vikram Rathour has joined the Kiwis for the one-off test against Afghanistan. Rathour played six tests for India in the 90s before becoming the BCCI selector in 2012. His most recent work comes from the Indian batting unit under head coach Rahul Dravid.
Rangana Herath has been appointed as spin-bowling coach for the three upcoming Tests in Asia while former Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour has joined the BLACKCAPS for the one-off Test in Noida against Afghanistan. #AFGvNZ #SLvNZ https://t.co/faF2cFarMo
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) September 6, 2024
Speaking about the appointment of Herath and Vikram Rathour, Kiwis head coach Gary Stead said, “We’re really excited to introduce Rangana and Vikram into our Test group.”
“Both men are held in high regard in the world of cricket and I know our players are really looking forward to the opportunity to learn from them.”
“For our three left-arm orthodox spinners in particular, Ajaz (Patel), Mitchell (Santner), and Rachin (Ravindra) having the chance to work with Rangana across three Tests on the sub-continent will be hugely beneficial,” he said.
“Rangana has taken over 100 Test wickets in Galle which is the venue of our two Tests against Sri Lanka and so his knowledge of that venue will be priceless,” Stead added.
New Zealand will be touring Sri Lanka in the second half of the month before they play a three-match test series against India. The One-off test against Afghanistan is not part of the WTC cycle.
Currently, New Zealand stands in third position in the WTC points table with 3 wins in 6 matches. The only test against Afghanistan will be played between September 9 and 13 at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground.
