Kenya show exit door to Dodda Ganesh a month after his appointment as head coach

Former Indian cricketer, Dodda Ganesh, who got appointed as head coach of the Kenya on August 14, 2024, has been abruptly dismissed by Cricket Kenya, subject to immediate effect.

Ganesh had heightened ambitions of executing Kenya's return to the World Cup, with their previous edition being the 2011 edition co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. He had made his bold goal clear at the Sikh Union Club during a felicitation ceremony last month. 

"The objective is to qualify for the World Cups, both ODIs and T20Is, but before that, we need to start preparing and start making progress. We have started preparing, and the signs are good. We got hardly any time left [for the first tournament], so I am watching local league matches. There will be fitness tests. We will slowly get into a process," Ganesh had stated, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. 

Lameck Onyango & Joseph Angara will resume their duties as the coaches for the 2027 Challenge League Group A round in September. Cricket Kenya passed a resolution in which the contract originally signed with Ganesh on August 7 has been deemed invalid, as per a report from InsideSport.

Ganesh's initial assignment with the team was supposed to be at the ICC Division 2 Challenge League this month, where they will be facing Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Denmark, and Jersey, subsequently followed by the T20 World Cup Africa Qualifiers in October.

Also Read: Former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh appointed as Kenya's new head coach

Irregularities in hiring process reported to be the prime reason for Ganesh's sacking 

According to the same report, a statement was passed regarding the sudden removal of Ganesh due to the failure to comply with the pre-set guidelines during the process of appointment.

“Under a resolution of the executive board of Cricket Kenya passed on Wednesday, 28th August 2024, and anchored under inter alia Articles 5.9 and 8.4.3 of the Cricket Kenya Constitution, we wish to notify you that the executive board has declined to ratify your appointment as head coach of the men’s cricket national team for want of following established procedures,” read the letter signed by Cricket Kenya’s Director of Women’s Cricket, Pearlyne Omami.

The bowling all-rounder from Karnataka played a total of five internationals. However, he played substantially more domestic cricket, accounting for a total of 493 dismissals and registering a total of 2548 runs during a domestic career that spanned a decade.