Niraj Rambhai Odedra (born 18 January 1975) is an Indian
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
coach and former player. He was appointed head coach of
Saurashtra in 2020 and additionally became coach of the
Bermuda national cricket team in 2022. He previously played for Saurashtra as a right-arm
off spin bowler.
Early life
Odedra was born on 18 January 1975 in
Porbandar
Porbandar is a city in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capi ...
,
Gujarat, India.
Playing career
Odedra played 26
Ranji Trophy
The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...
matches and 22
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...
matches for
Saurashtra between 1998 and 2004. He took 80 first-class wickets including two ten-wicket hauls.
[
Odedra also played for Chingford in the Essex Cricket League where he was the leading runscorer from 2004 to 2006.
]
Coaching career
In 2015, Odedra was appointed as Saurashtra's bowling and fielding coach.2019–20 Ranji Trophy
The 2019–20 Ranji Trophy was the 86th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament in India. It took place between December 2019 and March 2020. Chandigarh competed in the Ranji Trophy for the first time. Vidarbha we ...
. In April 2020 he was appointed to succeed Karsan Ghavri
Karsan Devjibhai Ghavri (born 28 February 1951) is a former Indian cricketer who played in 39 Test matches and 19 One Day Internationals from 1974 to 1981. He played in the 1975 and 1979 World Cups.
Ghavri started his career playing Ranji Tr ...
as Saurashtra's head coach.
In June 2022, Odedra was appointed coach of the Bermuda national cricket team on a short-term contract, replacing interim coach Cal Waldron.[ His initial contract expired in September 2022, but he returned to oversee the team's preparation for the ]2023 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier
The 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier was a cricket tournament that formed part of the qualification process for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The first stage of the qualification pathway in the Americas region was the sub-region ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odedra, Niraj
1975 births
Living people
Coaches of the Bermuda national cricket team
Saurashtra cricketers
Indian cricketers
Indian cricket coaches
Indian expatriates in Bermuda