Tripura State Association has appointed Lance Klusener as its advisor (CSA Twitter)
Lance Klusener has joined Tripura’s state team as a consultant ahead of the upcoming domestic season as they aim to improve their track record in Ranji Trophy.
Former South African all-rounder Lance Klusener has been appointed by the Tripura Cricket Association as its advisor ahead of the upcoming domestic season. Klusener, who made his debut for the Proteas in 1996, was one of the best all-rounders at the peak of his career till he retired in 2004.
Tripura Cricket Association vice-president, Timir Chanda revealed that the seasoned coach is ready to provide his services to all the teams in the state and will not limit himself to just the Ranji Trophy team.
Klusener is also expected to spend around 100 days in his new role as a consultant, starting with a 20-day camp in Agartala.
Speaking to Sportstar, Chanda confirmed the development.
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“We put an ad for the job on our website a few weeks ago, and Lance applied for the role along with Dave Whatmore. Though Dao later pulled out due to family commitments, Lance was keen to take up the offer,” revealed the VP of the Tripura State Board.
Since retiring from international duty, Klusener has worked with the national teams of Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and several franchise teams as a coach.
The 51-year-old was also part of the coaching setup of a franchise in the Tamil Nadu Premier League sometime back.
Lance’s experience will be of great help to our cricketers. It is a matter of pride for us to have someone like him as an advisor to Tripura.”
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Proteas legend manager Kaustuv Lahiri said, “Lance has agreed to play the role of a mentor and will spend a total of 100 days with the Tripura team. He will initially come for a 20-day camp in Agartala and will later make more visits.”
Having played 49 Test matches and 171 ODIs with South Africa during his playing days, the veteran Proteas was part of the team that reached the final of the 1990 World Cup, but lost the summit clash to Australia.
Lance will leave for Kolkata on Friday and reach Agartala the next day. Meanwhile, Chanda confirmed that Tripura had managed to sign an extension with Wriddhiman Saha, the India international who captained Tripura last year. He is also likely to hold talks with Saha and then appoint a coach to work closely with Klusener.
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Tripura ended their Ranji Trophy campaign last year in sixth place in Elite Group D with just 11 points from seven matches.