The Goa Cricket Association (GCA) has made significant changes to its coaching staff, appointing former India international Dinesh Mongia as the head coach of the senior men’s team. Mongia, who has a rich experience with 57 ODI appearances and a solitary T20I for India, served as the coach of Odisha last season before taking on this new role. He replaces Surendra Bhave, who held the position last season. Alongside Mongia, J.P. Yadav, another India international, has been named the U-23 coach, replacing Swapnil Asnodkar. The GCA hopes that Yadav’s experience playing for India and coaching teams like Railways will be beneficial for the young players.
In addition to the new coaching appointments, the GCA has retained Arjun Tendulkar and K.V. Siddharth as professional players. Rohan Kadam has been added as the third player after Rahul Tripathi’s return to Maharashtra. Kadam, who had taken a No Objection Certificate from the Karnataka State Cricket Association to join Goa last season, was unable to play due to Tripathi’s presence. This season, Kadam will have the opportunity to play for Goa, while Siddharth, who scored 467 runs in the Ranji Trophy last season, will be aiming for a strong start. Arjun, son of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, will also continue with the GCA, having scored 258 runs and claimed nine wickets in the Ranji Trophy.
Meanwhile, the Tripura Cricket Association (TCA) has signed Jiwanjot Singh and Mandeep Singh as professional players to fill the void left by Wriddhiman Saha and Sudip Chatterjee who have returned to Bengal. Jiwanjot, who played for Uttarakhand last season, and Mandeep, the seasoned captain who led Punjab to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy win last season, are set to join the team soon. Mandeep has already applied for a No Objection Certificate from the Punjab Cricket Association. While Jiwanjot moved to Uttarakhand after a long association with Punjab, Mandeep served as Punjab’s captain for a significant period. In his extensive career spanning 14 years, Mandeep has played 99 first-class and 131 List A matches.
