PANAJI
Former Goa captain Swapnil Asnodkar has been appointed as the U-23 head coach of Kerala (white-ball team) and a mentor of the same team for red-ball for the upcoming domestic season.
"Coach by title, mentor by heart. Thankful to KCA for such an opportunity. Excited and ready for this adventure," Swapnil wrote on his facebook account.
In Col C K Nayudu Trophy U-23 tournament, Kerala has been placed in Elite Group A along with Goa, Gujarat, Baroda, Punjab, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Meghalaya.
During last season, Swapnil was the batting coach of Nagaland where former India international Debashish Mohanty was the head coach of the Nagaland side.
Nagaland had finished runners-up in Ranji Plate Division 2024-25 season, losing to Goa in the finals. But, on virtue of finishing in top-two in Ranji Plate Division, Nagaland along with Goa had qualified to the Ranji Elite Group for the current season.
During 2023-24 season, Asnodkar was the batting coach for India U-19 boys’ team.
Asnodkar, a prolific run scorer in domestic cricket, has also been the U-23 head coach for Goa during 2019-20 season.
He was one of the most talked about players in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, where he featured for Rajasthan Royals.
An attacking, diminutive opener, in his domestic cricket career spanning nearly 17 years from 2001-2018, Asnodkar has been Goa’s leading run-scorer in first-class cricket with 5,883 runs which includes 14 100s and 25 50s. The 2007-08 Ranji season was his best wherein he scored 640 runs at 71.11 with a personal best of 254 not out against Railways.
Asnodkar is also remembered for this impressive IPL debut with the Rajasthan Royals in 2008 where he formed a powerful opening partnership with South African captain Graeme Smith. Together they scored 418 runs at an average of 59.71. His fearless style of play evoked memories of Sri Lanka's Romesh Kaluwitharana and won the praise of his captain Shane Warne.
