PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Former West Indies all-rounder Rayad Emrit has conceded he will be “restricted” but dismissed talk of retirement, despite applying for the vacant post of Trinidad and Tobago Red Force head coach.
“I have no intentions of retiring from playing cricket,” the Express newspaper here quoted the 39-year-old Trinidadian as saying.
“I am very keen on playing still so if given the job, I will have to make certain decisions. But obviously, I will be restricted.”
Emrit was one of 18 applicants for the post along with the incumbent Mervyn Dillon, former champion Windies leg-spinner Samuel Badree and Test left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn.
Sri Lanka’s Pasindu Liyanaarachchi, Afghanistan’s Asadullah Khan along with Heinrich Malan of South Africa and Pakistani Atiq-Uz-Zaman, have also applied.
Emrit, a former Red Force captain, has forged a successful career as a Twenty20 specialist, and was recently appointed captain of the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for the upcoming Caribbean Premier League season.
However, he said he decided to put his name up for consideration after being encouraged to do so by several former Red Force teammates.
“I seriously considered it, knowing that I’ve played with most of the guys in the team and I think I have a lot of respect from them and some of them asked me to put my name forward when they saw that the job was being advertised,” Emrit said.
“It is a decision I made based on what I think is my best move, going forward, and obviously having the respect of the guys in the team.”
Under Dillon, Red Force achieved their best ever finish in the six-year professional era of the first class championship, when they ended second behind champions Barbados Pride earlier this year.
They managed only a single win from the first five rounds of the competition but hit back to win two of the last three matches, before the tournament was aborted following the eighth round due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Nevertheless, Emrit said he possessed the ability to further develop the abundance of talent that lay in the Red Force rankings.
“There are a lot of talent in our country but I still think the talent is not being treated the way it should be treated and I don’t want the talent to go to waste so hopefully, if I get in a position to work with these guys I can make a change for this talented bunch of guys,” said Emrit, who played two One-Day Internationals and four T20 Internationals but has not suited up in two years.
“Whoever gets the job, it’s an important job and I wish everyone all the best. Once I’m selected I will do my best to move TT cricket forward.”
