Mohammad Kaif named Delhi Daredevils' assistant coach
New Delhi, Nov 9: Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif was Friday named assistant coach of IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils for the upcoming 2019 season.
"Delhi Daredevils have roped in former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif as their assistant coach for the upcoming Indian Premier League season," the team announced.
Kaif, who was roped in as a talent scout in the DD set-up, was earlier an assistant coach to Brad Hodge at the Gujarat Lions in the 2017 IPL season. Kaif joins Ricky Ponting and James Hopes in the Daredevils' coaching team.
He previously led Chhattisgarh in their debut Ranji Trophy season and acted as mentor for the young team.
"I'm delighted to be part of the Delhi Daredevils and am looking forward to bringing together an exciting group of boys, who are going to make their franchise and country proud," Kaif said.
"With the management team's support, I am sure we'll help nurture many of the younger boys in the squad and make this team a force to be reckoned with in the IPL," he added.
Delhi Daredevils' Director Mustafa Ghouse welcomed Kaif into the fold.
"Kaif brings in huge amounts of experience and a keen understanding of the game to our backroom staff. He's highly admired on the circuit and will be a natural mentor for the youngsters in the team.
"We are confident that his leadership and guidance will help the team tremendously in the new IPL season," he said.
The 37-year old announced his retirement earlier this year after a first-class career which spanned over two decades and included a famous first domestic title for his Uttar Pradesh side.
Remembered fondly for his role in the NatWest Series final against England in 2002, Kaif played 125 ODIs and 13 Tests for India, and finished his domestic career scoring 10,229 runs in 186 matches.
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Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
