Lalchand Rajput takes over as UAE's head coach

Former India international Lalchand Rajput has been appointed head coach of UAE for a three-year term, taking over from interim head coach Mudassar Nazar.

Rajput has previous experience of managing India during their title win in the 2007 T20 World Cup, and also coached Afghanistan when they received Test status in 2017. Most recently, he was Zimbabwe's head coach from 2018 to 2022.

"UAE has emerged as one of the stronger Associate Members in recent years and the players have put in some good performances in both ODIs and T20Is," Rajput said in a statement from the Emirates Cricket Board. "The current batch is exceptionally talented and I look forward to working with them and further harnessing their cricket skills."

Rajput's first assignment will be to oversee UAE's League 2 tri-series campaign against Scotland and Canada starting February 28, a qualifying competition for the 2027 ODI World Cup. He takes charge of a team that most recently lost a T20I series 2-1 to Afghanistan.

In November, UAE also lost their chance of making it to the 2024 T20 World Cup by losing to Nepal in the semi-final of the Asia-Pacific qualifiers.

"We are confident that under his coaching UAE men's cricket will flourish further," Mubashshir Usmani - ECB general secretary said. "I also want to take this opportunity to thank Mudassar Nazar for his stellar work as the interim head coach. Mudassar will now return to his role as Head of the National Academy Programme where he will continue to identify and groom our future stars."