Wasim Jaffer appointed Kings XI Punjab's batting coach
New Delhi: Former India player Wasim Jaffer has been appointed as the batting coach of Kings XI Punjab for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League.
A top source in the franchise confirmed his appointment and Jaffer's name also figured in the official support staff list posted on the team's website.
The Mumbaikar, who now plays for Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy, represented India in 31 Tests between 2000 and 2008, scoring 1944 runs which included five hundreds and 11 fifties.
The 41-year-old also has a double hundred to his name -- a highest score of 212 against the West Indies in 2006 at St John's. He also played two ODIs for India during an international career that spanned nearly eight years.
Jaffer remains a domestic stalwart, having played more than 254 first-class matches and scored nearly 20,000 runs. He recently became the first to play in 150 Ranji Trophy games and needs just 853 runs to complete 20,000 runs.
In the IPL's inaugural season in 2008, Jaffer represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in six matches but could only manage 130 runs at a strike rate of 110.57.
Besides Kumble and Jaffer, KXIP's revamped coaching staff includes Sunil Joshi as bowling coach and Jonty Rhodes as fielding coach, respectively.
Kumble, under whose captaincy Jaffer turned out for India, played a role in the former Mumbai opener's appointment.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
