Vikram Solanki appointed as Surrey's new head coach

Vikram Solanki has been announced as the new head coach of Surrey.

Solanki, the former England batsman, replaces Michael Di Venuto who was told a few weeks ago his contract would not be renewed at the end of the season. He has remained in Australia.

Solanki, who has been a coach at Surrey since his retirement from the game in 2016, will take up the position straight away and work with the Surrey squad as soon as professional players are able to return to group training.

"I'd like to begin by acknowledging the outstanding contribution of Michael Di Venuto during his time at the club," said Solanki. "I am now really excited to be taking over as Head Coach. We have a very talented group of players at Surrey CCC and will be looking to compete in all formats - both in any competitions that are able to be staged this summer and in the future.

"Our squad contains a great mixture of established talent and young up and coming players looking for opportunities. I'm looking forward to working with all Surrey players to make sure the Club has the best possible chance of delivering more silverware in the years to come."

Alec Stewart, Surrey County Cricket Club Director of Cricket, added: "After recently having to make a tough decision on Michael Di Venuto, I'm very fortunate to have been able to appoint someone who knows our setup and players inside out - but has also broadened his coaching experience around the world in recent years.

"I have total confidence and faith that Vikram will step up to this new role and its associated challenges and responsibilities."

During his time at Surrey, Solanki has worked in coaching roles under both Di Venuto and Graham Ford, and has also worked as an Assistant Coach at the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, in the Dubai-based T10 competition and on a recent England Lions spin camp in Mumbai.

As a player, Solanki played 54 ODI and T20I matches for England between 2000 and 2007. Domestically, he played 325 first-class games with a further 484 white-ball appearances, scoring over 31,000 runs in all formats, the majority in a 17-year stint with Worcestershire, whom he captained for five years between 2005 and 2010.

Further to his coaching and playing careers, Solanki has also acted as Chairman (2009-2012) and - in 2012 - interim Chief Executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association. He is also President of the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), a role he has held since 2017.

Surrey CCC Chairman Richard Thompson added: "Vikram has already been part of the Surrey family for a long time and it's fantastic to now welcome him as our Head Coach. On behalf of everyone at Surrey CCC, we look forward to him taking up the role and playing an even bigger part within the Club."