sau Kolkata: For the past two seasons, the Bengal U23 cricket team was managed by Ashok Malhotra who is a former Indian cricketer. During the 1989-90 seasons he played a major role in winning the Ranji Trophy for Bengal which was captained by Sambharan Banerjee. He has also been the manager of the U23 team for a long time, however for the past couple of seasons the team hasn’t managed to fair well and as a result a new manager, Saurasish Lahiri has been selected for 2 years. “I am extremely proud to have been selected as the coach of the junior team. I have played for Bengal as well as captained the side and now I am extremely happy on being given an opportunity to coach the side” said Saurasish Lahiri. Lahiri who idolizes Gary Kirsten as a coach, wants to follow his model of staying behind at the back screen and opted for players to come forward. When players couldn’t perform or faced criticism, Gary came to the rescue of the players. “I really love this model of working behind the screen. I have played for the last 20 years or so and have won many important matches for my side and as result I have faced many tricky situations as a player. However now I will face these situations by sitting in the dressing room but I am excited and looking forward for the challenge” he added. “I myself wanted the resignation. I tried my level best. Sometimes the team fair well and sometime doesn’t. I have other commitments to fulfill as a result I resigned from my post. I would also like to wish Saurasish all the best for becoming the new coach” said Ashok Malhotra. “I have played many memorable matches under sir’s (Ashok Malhotra) coaching. I am grateful that sir has wished me. I will also benefit a lot from the experience I am gathering from the Vision 2020 camp which is headed by cricketing legends like VVS Laxman and Muralitharan” added Lahiri With the change in the Ranji Trophy format it is likely to be seen that Pragyan Ojha gets a way out. Earlier former Indian cricketer and CAB President Sourav Ganguly had said that he doesn’t want to let go of Ojha. With the new format, 3 matches will be played in Bengal (home matches), Pragyan Ojha can be a major asset for the team if the spinning pitches are made. Thus with the way the situation is proceeding it can be said that the CAB is unwilling to let go of the ace spinner from their arsenal.