Rajeev Kumar came into the Indian team in 2016 after the BCCI had parted ways with the much-loved Ramesh Mane (Mane Kaka), a decade ago in 2015. Kumar confirmed the development on his Instagram page.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) parted ways with Rajeev Kumar, the Team India masseur for nearly a decade, following the England tour. Kumar, in his lengthy tenure, was a key member of the support staff led by Ravi Shastri before and later Rahul Dravid, being at players’ disposal at every step before, during and after the game, during training and off-season as well.
“Its been a privilege and honour to serve Indian cricket team for a decade (2016-2025) thankyou god for the opportunity truly grateful and looking forward,” Kumar wrote on his Instagram.
The Indian Express had reported last week that the BCCI parted ways with Kumar, having appointed a new masseur recommended by the team management. “The Indian board has decided to discontinue with Rajeevโs services. The Indian team had already appointed a masseur, which was recommended by team management before,โ a BCCI source was quoted as saying in the report.
Kumar was appointed in 2016 after the BCCI had parted ways with the much-loved and everyone’s favourite Ramesh Mane, aka Mane Kaka. This was the third such dissociation in the support staff by the BCCI since the Champions Trophy, including Abhishek Nayar, the former assistant coach and the strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai, who was replaced by Adrian Le Roux.
India to start Asia Cup prep next week
Team India will begin its Asia Cup preparation next week, with the squad likely to fly out to Dubai on September 4. Led by Suryakumar Yadav, the Men in Blue will begin their campaign on September 10 against the hosts UAE. India are drawn in Group A alongside the UAE, arch-rivals Pakistan and the debutants Oman. The Asia Cup will be India’s first T20I assignment since the England series at the start of the year.
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