Ignored Rajput disappointed

MUMBAI: The Board's decision on Tuesday to appoint Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun and R Sridhar as chief coach Duncan Fletcher's assistants in the ODI series in England may have spelt a bonanza for the often-ignored lot of Indian coaches, but one man has a genuine reason to feel ignored.
Former India opener Lalchand Rajput, who has been coaching the India 'A' team with reasonable success since the past three years, is naturally peeved at having been sidelined by the BCCI yet again.Back in 2008, Rajput, despite having coached a young Indian team, led by MS Dhoni, to the 2007 World T20 title and the CB series triumph next year, was removed in favour of former South African opener Gary Kirsten.
Six years later, the luckless coach was again given the cold shoulder and was considered to not be good enough to even be part of the support staff, despite having worked closely with many players in the current Indian team.
"This is really disappointing. After doing well as the India 'A' coach on the tours to South Africa and recently Australia, I was looking forward to it (being named Duncan Fletcher's assistant). However, I will definitely keep working hard and work to the best of my abilities," a dejected Rajput told TOI on Tuesday. Rajput had taken charge of the India ' A' team for the West Indies tour in 2012.
Under him, India twice won the Emerging Trophy One-day tournament. Quite a few youngsters, like 'keeper Sanju Samson and leggie Karn Sharma, were chosen for the ODI series in England on the basis of performances in that tournament. Under him, the India 'A' team drew the 'Test' series in both South Africa and Australia.