Ajay Lalcheta
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As the Captain of Oman’s national cricket team
The Times of India, Apr 07 2016
32-year-old cricketer from Gujarat is Oman's captain
Vijaysinh Parmar
Ajay Lalcheta, the 32-year-old native of Porbandar, has been named the captain of Oman's national cricket team.
Lalcheta, a slow left-arm orthodox bowler, had earned praise when underdogs Oman stunned Ireland in ICC World T20 qualifiers in Dharamsala last month.
India's ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had termed “golden“ Lalcheta's miserly first over to Ireland captain William Porterfield.
After playing in under-14 to under-19 teams of Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA), Lalcheta immigrated to Oman in 2006 in search of better opportunities and a job.
He joined Al-Turki enterprise and grabbed the attention of national team selectors by leading the company's team successfully . “The announcement came as a bit of a surprise for me. My aim now will be to reach the qualifying round of ICC's ODI World Cup scheduled for 2019. We have two years to prepare and we will now focus on intensive training to make a mark in the 50-over format,“ Lalcheta told TOI over phone from Oman.
Lalcheta's younger brot her Vijay , who works for a bank in Porbandar, said, “Ajay's elevation as captain is a matter of pride for all of us here. Leading a national team is something that a cricketer always dreams of.“
Lalcheta's immediate challenge would be the upcoming World Cricket League to be held in UK's Jersey. Ajay Lalcheta, 32, the new captain of Oman, will face his next big test in the World Cricket League in Jersey , a British island off the coast of Normandy , France. The event will be played between May 21 and 28 and will feature six teams -Oman, Jersey, Tanzania, Nigeria, Guernsey and Vanuatu.
Two finalists of this ICC WCL Division 5 competition will earn a promotion to Division 4.
“In the next two years, we will have to win va rious stages of ICC tournaments to improve our ranks to enter the qualifying round for the next ODI World Cup. I am thankful to selectors for putting faith in me and I will try my best to lead the team from the front, Lalcheta said.
Lalcheta along with another Oman player Rajeshkumar Ranpura, who hails from Palanpur, got their initial coaching in Duleep School of Cricket, one of the oldest residential cricket school in Gujarat.
