Cricket Kenya have sacked men's national team head coach Dodda Ganesh, just one month after he was appointed.
On August 14, Cricket Kenya had announced that former Indian fast bowler Dodda Ganesh would take over as head coach of the men's national team. In his playing days, Ganesh had represented Karnataka at the domestic level, and India in four Tests and one ODI.
His appointment was meant to bring a degree of stability to Kenyan cricket, which had been in a transition phase. Ganesh had taken over from Lameck Onyango, who was the interim coach at the time. Onyango, along with Joseph Angara and Joseph Asichi remained in the scheme of things as part of Ganesh's staff.
However, in a suprising turn of events, Ganesh has now been removed from his position exactly one month after being appointed.
Cricket Kenya: Appointment did not follow established procedures
As reported by Nation.Africa, a letter was sent to Ganesh which read as follows: "Under a resolution of the executive board of Cricket Kenya passed on Wednesday, 28 August 2024, and anchored under inter alia Articles 5.9 and 8.4.3 of the Cricket Kenya Constitution, we wish to notify you that the executive board has declined to ratify your appointment as head coach of the men’s cricket national team for want of following established procedures.
"Voided the purported contract made on August 7, 2024 between Mr Manoj Patel and yourself. Pursuant to the above, Cricket Kenya is not and shall not be bound by the said purported contract.
Another day dominated by batters 🔥
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) September 13, 2024
Check day 2 roundup here ➡️ https://t.co/URir8QNday pic.twitter.com/4d3uoGYHPi
"You are therefore directed to cease any further engagement or dealings with the men's national cricket team with immediate effect. Any concerns or claims relating to this notice should be channeled to Mr Manoj Patel and any other individuals who irregularly and unprocedurally engaged you in this respect."
Also read: Moin Khan questions Pakistan's U-turn on son Azam Khan
The letter was signed by Pearlyne Omami, Cricket Kenya's Director of Women's Cricket, on behalf of the other board members. It is not yet clear what procedures were violated by Cricket Kenya in appointing Ganesh. It does, however, bring an abrupt end to his ambitions of bringing Kenya back into the ODI and T20I World Cups.
Lameck Onyango and Joseph Angara have been reinstated as the interim coach and assistant coach of the team, and their first challenge will be to navigate the ICC Division 2 Challenge League where Kenya have been pit against Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Jersey and Denmark.
Image credit: Facebook/Dodda Ganesh
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
