David Saker named Australia head coach for India ODI tour
David Saker, Australia’s fast bowling coach, will be at the helm of affairs with the national side when they travel to India for a One-Day International series later in the year, Cricket Australia announced on Friday (March 10). Saker will take Darren Lehmann’s place for the series, the dates for which, haven’t been announced yet.
The moves comes following Lehmann’s heath concerns. He was diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) in January last year when he complained of a swelling on his left calf. He underwent blood-thinning therapy and was advised to reduce air travel.
The opportunity also gives Saker a chance to prove his mettle and make a claim to be Australia’s full-time coach when Lehmann decides to call it a day. “It’s a huge honour to be even considered to be a coach of an Australian team, and to be given the opportunity is fantastic,” Saker said. “I’m going to look forward to it a lot, and my ambition is to coach Australia.
I know not playing cricket for Australia makes it a little bit harder. But I think I’ve been involved in Test cricket, one-day cricket and Twenty20 cricket a lot. I’ve seen a lot of cricket, so I think I could do the job without a doubt.
