Former India opener Lalchand Rajput appointed head coach of Zimbabwe cricket team

Mumbai: Former India opener Lalchand Rajput has been appointed as the head coach of Zimbabwe's national team.

Zimbabwe Cricket made the announcement on their official Twitter handle.

"@ZimCricketv is thrilled to announce Lalchand Rajput has been appointed as the substantive head coach of our mens national team.

The former @BCCI international is a respected and successful coach reputed for his passion, hard work and intimate knowledge of the game #AllTheBest," Zimbabwe Cricket tweeted.

Rajput was earlier appointed as the interim head coach of Zimbabwe in May for the tri-series involving Pakistan and Zimbabwe and for the ODI rubber against Pakistan.

"I am happy and excited over the appointment and look forward to the challenges ahead. I am thankful to Zimbabwe Cricket for recognising my coaching abilities and giving me a three-year term, but renewable yearly," Rajput told PTI from Zimbabwe.

Rajput played two Tests and four ODIs for India and was a consistent performer for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.

He was the cricket manager of the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Indian team which lifted the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.

He was also the Indian team's cricket manager when it clinched the ODI series in Australia in 2008.

Rajput has also coached Afghanistan, who played their first Test against India in June this year, and was praised for his work. He was appointed Afghanistan coach in 2016.

In the last domestic season, he had coached Assam.

Rajput had also mentored a team in the Mumbai Premier League and has held administrative positions in the Mumbai Cricket Association.