Ajay Sharma appointed coach of J&K senior cricket team

Sep 13, 2022

JAMMU: Former Delhi-based player and current head coach of the J&K senior men's side, Ajay Sharma, was appointed by the J&K Cricket Association (JKCA).

Sanjeev Sharma, a former cricketer for India and Delhi who served as the J&K senior team coach last year, would be replaced by Sharma. Sanjeev will be the Vidarbha team's coach for the upcoming campaign.

"In order to ensure continuity, the selection committee preferred the same set of coaches who were selected during the last season but Sanjeev Sharma, Head Coach in the last season was not available due to other commitments. Hence Ajay Sharma who has played for India, Delhi, and HP and holds the record of batting average close to 80 in Ranji Trophy, which is second only to Sh. Vijay Merchant was given nod by the Selection Committee and appointed Head Coach of the Senior Men's team," a statement released by JKCA quoted Brigadier Gupta, Member Administration reads.

Pertinently, Ajay Sharma played 31 ODIs and one Test for India before his career was terminated for allegedly participating in match-fixing.

According to the release, Ajay Sharma will join the team in Srinagar where the fitness assessment and conditioning camp is currently in session.

With the exception of the senior women's team, J&K performed abhorrently in all domestic tournaments last year. Although it was anticipated that JKCA would change the system, they have stuck with the same setup that led J&K to perform poorly in all of the competitions.

Meanwhile, J&K senior cricket team is going to start its seasonal campaign by participating in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy that starts on October 12.

J&K will be facing Meghalaya in its first match of the tournament at Mohali.

The J&K side has been kept in Elite Group C and will be playing all its group matches in Mohali. The other teams in the group include Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala and Services.