Dodda Ganesh, a former Indian cricket player, was unexpectedly fired by Cricket Kenya with immediate effect on August 14, 2024, after being named head coach of the Kenya team.
Ganesh had high hopes of bringing Kenya back to the World Cup; the country having previously participated in one, which was jointly hosted by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India in 2011. During a felicitation event held at the Sikh Union Club last month, he had made clear his audacious ambition.
“We need to start practicing and improving before we can hope to qualify for the World Cups, both in ODIs and T20Is. The signals are encouraging, and we have begun to prepare. There is not much time left [until the first event], so I’m watching games in the local league. There are going to be fitness assessments. We shall gradually begin a procedure,” Ganesh was reported to have said.
In September, Lameck Onyango and Joseph Angara will take up their roles as the coaches for the Group A round of the 2027 Challenge League. According to an Inside Sport article, Cricket Kenya issued a resolution declaring the initial contract that was signed with Ganesh on August 7 to be void.
Ganesh was set to play his first match for the team this month in the ICC Division 2 Challenge League against Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Denmark, and Jersey. In October, the side would play in the T20 World Cup Africa Qualifiers.
It is said that irregularities in the hiring procedure were the main cause of Dodda Ganesh dismissal
The same report claims that a statement was made about Ganesh’s abrupt departure because he didn’t follow the predetermined procedures when he was appointed.
The letter, signed by Pearlyne Omami, Cricket Kenya’s Director of Women’s Cricket, read, “Under a resolution of the executive board of Cricket Kenya passed on Wednesday, 28th 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.”
Also Read: Kenya’s new head coach is Dodda Ganesh, a former cricket player for India
The Karnataka bowling all-rounder participated in five international matches. But he played a lot more domestic cricket, finishing with a ten-year domestic career that saw him claim 493 wickets and score 2548 runs.
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