NEW DELHI — Former India player Sanjay Bangar was Thursday named the national coach for the team's upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, the cricket board said.
Bangar, who is currently the head coach of Indian Premier League side Kings XI Punjab, will accompany a largely inexperienced squad led by limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
India is slated to play three One-Day Internationals and as many Twenty20 matches starting June 11 in Harare.
"Mr. Sanjay Bangar has been appointed as the Head Coach of the Indian cricket team for the forthcoming tour to Zimbabwe," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Ajay Shirke said in a statement.
Bangar, 43, worked with the team as assistant coach until the recent World T20 under team director Ravi Shastri.
Bangar, who has represented India in 12 Tests and 15 ODIs, was appointed assistant coach during the limited-overs leg of India's tour to England in 2014.
The BCCI is on the hunt for a permanent head coach, with the process expected to be completed before India leave for the West Indies in July.
Starc gunning to fire again
Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc Thursday said he was raring to go after six months on the sidelines, declaring himself "fit, strong and ready".
Starc, 26, is set to make his long-waited comeback in Guyana on June 6 against South Africa during a one-day tri-series that also features the West Indies.
The left-arm paceman has been out of action since fracturing his foot in last November's historic day-night Test in Adelaide against New Zealand.
"It's been a long time coming. The foot has been great, there's no pain in the ankle or the foot," Starc told reporters in Sydney ahead of the team's departure for the Caribbean.
"I've been really happy with it, it's come along really well. I've had a good three or four months in gym to get a bit of size back on, and I'm feeling really good; fit, strong and ready to play some cricket."
His fitness boosts Australia's pace attack which also features Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Scott Boland for a series where each team plays three matches against the other, with the top two making the final on June 26.
