Ashok Mankad likely to coach Mumbai

The new coach of Mumbai for the forthcoming domestic season is expected to be named on August 21, when the Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) Cricket Improvement Committee meets.

Lalchand Rajput, the joint secretary of the MCA, said that invitations have been sent to all members. Contenders for the post include Kenia Jayantilal, and former Test players Balwinder Sandhu, Pravin Amre and Ashok Mankad. It is learnt that Mankad, a former India opening batsman, is one of the strongest contenders.

Karsan Ghavri, a former India medium pacer, was appointed as coach in May, but left to join Tripura. The committee was unable to convene any meetings in the last two months as many of its members were unavailable. However, all the members are expected to attend this meeting, with the exception of Sanjay Manjrekar, who is away in Sri Lanka commentating for a television channel. The remaining members include Raju Kulkarni, Milind Rege, Madhavrao Apte, Sanjay Patil and Shishir Hattangadi.

Mumbai begin their Ranji Trophy campaign in December.