Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has named Amit Pagnis as the coach of the Mumbai team for the curtailed 2020-21 domestic season, which will kick off with the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy from January 10, 2021. Pagnis was appointed for the job by the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC), led by former India opener Lalchand Rajput after CIC's first choice, Sulakshan Kulkarni, for the second year running, turned down the offer to coach Mumbai considering that his term would end on March 31, 2021, meaning it would last just three and a half months. Despite representing Railways for a majority of his 95 first class appearances in his 14-year career spanning between 1995-96 to 2008-09, Pagnis has been actively involved in Mumbai cricket for the last three years.
Speaking to TOI, Pagnis said: "I feel good. It's definitely a big responsibility. I have a short time to prepare the team, but it should not be a big problem, because some of the boys in the Mumbai team played in the IPL. Having been a part of the system (he was the Mumbai under-23 coach for two years and was the batting coach at the MCA's BKC academy last season) for the last few years, I know most of the boys well. I understand that the team hasn't done too well in the last two seasons, but that doesn't matter. It's about how we do this season. I'm confident that the team will put up a good show."On Wednesday, the MCA had named Pagnis' former teammate, pacer Salil Ankola as the senior team's chief selector.
