ALAN Butcher, the former Zimbabwe cricket team coach, has joined the race for the vacant coaching position at Indian first class cricket side Maharashtra.
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The Englishman, who had a two-year stint with the national cricket side before stepping down in April last year, is one of the applicants for the coaching post at the Indian cricket side which is based in Pune.
The Maharashtra cricket team competes in the Plate Group of the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic first-class cricket championship. Should Butcher succeed in getting the job, it would be his first coaching post since parting ways with Zimbabwe Cricket.
The 59-year-old Surrey-born coach however faces an uphill task to get the coaching post, following reports in the Indian Press that close to 30 coaches have applied for the job, including Australian great Greg Chappell.
“Australian great Greg Chappell is being considered by the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) to coach its senior side. Other big names on the short list include former West Indies batsman Alvin Kallicharan and one-time Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher,” reported the Indian Express.
“In addition to these illustrious names, Monty Desai, the Rajasthan Royals coach, has also thrown his hat into the ring. Former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar had also reportedly sent in an application but later withdrew from the race.”
Butcher – who made one Test appearance for England – took the Zimbabwe job in April 2010, with his first main challenge overseeing that return to Test cricket.
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It proved to be a victorious one, with Zimbabwe beating Bangladesh by 130 runs in a one-off Test. However, Zimbabwe struggled to recapture that form as a poor run ensued thereafter including a poor display at the ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.
The disastrous tour of the West Indies in February and March this year proved to be Butcher’s last assignment in charge of the national side before the expiry of his contract. Former Zimbabwe international Andy ‘Bundu’ Waller has since taken over as the national team coach.
