Vengsarkar said Pandit was a proven performer in the past as Mumbai coach. "Chandu will be the coach of Mumbai and head coach of BKC. He has been around for a long time and under him we won a lot," said Vengsarkar.
Chandrakant Pandit is back as Mumbai coach for the upcoming season.
On Tuesday, the former India stumper was appointed by the Cricket Improvement Committee led by Dilip Vengsarkar to hand over the reins for a period of two years. Pandit takes over from Pravin Amre.
Apart from being the Mumbai coach, Pandit will also be the head coach of the Mumbai Cricket Association's indoor academy at the Bandra-Kurla Complex.
Vengsarkar said Pandit was a proven performer in the past as Mumbai coach. "Chandu will be the coach of Mumbai and head coach of BKC. He has been around for a long time and under him we won a lot," said Vengsarkar.
So why did not MCA retain Amre after his one-year contract ended? "Amre did extremely well but wasn't keen to coach. Pandit is a proven guy, excellent strategist and man-manager. In the academy, Chandu will have a batting and bowling coach (spinners and pacers) for company," Vengsarkar added.
Other names like Sameer Dighe, Sulakshan Kulkarni and Sairaj Bahutule were discussed by the committee, of which members Amol Muzumdar, Ajit Agarkar and Sanjay Manjrekar failed to turn up. Vengsarkar said he had consulted with them.
Pandit, who coached Mumbai from 2002 to 2005 with two Ranji Trophy titles under him, is happy to return to the fold. "More than anything is that you feel proud to comeback for a team which you have played for and then handle as coach. I have been a part of Mumbai team in Ranji Trophy and then a part of the indoor academy. It is a great moment. I would like to thank MCA, Dilip Vengsarkar and the CIC for showing faith in me," said Pandit.
Pandit obviously knows the challenges of being a part of the Mumbai team. It means winning Ranji Trophy. "Every cricketer has a challenge and the team has always been tested in the past. The expectations are always there. It is a big challenge, considering we have inexperienced and young players," said Pandit, who has worked with the best of Mumbai as a coach in the past.
"Pravin Amre did a fantastic job as a coach. Naturally, every coach of Mumbai always look forward to winning Ranji Trophy and at the same time we cannot underestimate other states. We have to be one yard ahead of them and execute our plans," he added.
Meanwhile, Milind Rege was appointed as the new chief of the senior selection committee. He will have former India all-rounder Karsan Ghavri, Nishit Shetty and Ravi Thaker for company in the committee.
New appointees:
COACHES:
Ranji: Chandrakant Pandit; U-19: Vinod Raghvan; U-16: Kiran Powar; U-14: Prashant Shetty; U-12: Dinesh Lad; Women senior: Devieka Palshikaar; Women U-19: Sanjay Gaitonde
SELECTORS
Senior: Milind Rege (Chairman), Karsan Ghavri, Ravi Thaker, Nishit Shetty
U-19: Ranjan Baindoor (Chairman), Guru Gupte, Prasad Desai, Arun Shetty
U-16: Ramesh Vajge (Chairman), Santosh Shinde, Nilesh Bhosale, Bimesh Shah
U-14: Rajesh Sutar (Chairman), Suresh Shetty, Ajit Sawant, Prashant Sawant, Amol Bhalekar
Senior Women: Trupti Bhattacharya (Chairperson), Sangeeta Kamat, Sandhya Relekar, Jayesh Dadarkar
U-19 Women: Kalpana Murkar (Chairperson), Sonali Vig, Surekha Bhandare, Nilesh Patwardhan
Mumbai University: Men: Coach: Amit Velaskar; Selectors: Nilesh Kulkarni (Chairman), Vineet Mehta, JP Jadhav
Women: Coach: Susheel Jawle; Selectors: Anjali Pendharkar, Aarti Vaidya, Vrunda Bhagat
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