Harare, Aug 24 (IANS): Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) on Friday confirmed former India international Lalchand Rajput as the head coach of the national team, a couple of months after he joined on an interim basis.  "Zimbabwe Cricket is thrilled to announce Lalchand Rajput has been appointed as the substantive head coach of our men's national team," ZC confirmed in a statement on Twitter.

"The former @BCCI international is a respected and successful coach reputed for his passion, hard work and intimate knowledge of the game #AllTheBest," the statement added. Commenting on his association on a permanent basis, Rajput said: "It is an honour and privilege to work with Zimbabwe Cricket and I am really pleased to be given this opportunity to take this team to the next level, to work hard and ensure we make a difference in the coming years."

When Lalchand Rajput was selected as an interim coach, he spoke to LatestLY.com. He said, “I would be to prepare the players for the upcoming series against Australia and Pakistan which starts in July. With Pakistan, we have a couple of T20 matches. Ditto for Australia. We shall also be playing the 50 over format with Pakistan so it’s important for the players to be fully prepared not just physically but also mentally.”

Rajput, who represented India in two Tests and four one-day internationals, has successfully coached the men-in-blue to the inaugural ICC World T20 title in 2007. He was later associated with the Afghanistan national side. In between, he also coached Mumbai Indians in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) season and mentored them this year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 24, 2018 09:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).