Former FC player Kiran Powar to be Assam's head coach for 2026-27 season

MUMBAI: Former first-class batter and seasoned coach Kiran Powar has been appointed by the Assam Cricket Association as the Assam senior team's new head coach for the next two seasons. Powar was the Mumbai Under-23 team's head coach last season.

Significantly, Assam is the home state of BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

"I had applied for the Assam head coach's job with the ACA, and they immediately invited me over for an interview. I flew down to Guwahati yesterday. They were impressed by me, and were very keen that I take up the job. The ACA officials told me that they had heard good things about me from Mumbai's cricketing circle, that I'm a tough, no-nonsense guy. They want someone like me as the Assam head coach. I'm really thankful to them for giving me this opportunity. The ACA is doing great work-their plans for the 2026-27 season are already in place and they are building India's largest indoor cricket academy in Guwahati," Powar told TOI from Guwahati on Monday.

"I'm leaving Mumbai with a heavy heart, and would like to serve it again in the future. I would especially like to thank Mumbai Cricket Association president Ajinkya Naik for providing me with his constant support and giving me an opportunity to be the coach of the Mumbai U-23 team despite many people being against me," he added.

Assam failed to progress to the knockouts of any of the domestic tournaments last season. The NorthEast team had former India player Noel Davoid as their head coach in the 2025-season. In the 2024-25 season, Assam had opted for split coaching, with Vivek Jaisimha as the head coach of the senior men’s team for the red-ball tournaments, while RX Murali will be at the helm for the shorter format.

The 50-year-old Powar played 39 first-class games, in which he scored 2562 runs at an average of 42 besides picking up 10 wickets.

Powar had recently announced that he would launch a world-class multi-sports facility near Mumbai and Pune. Located in Khopoli and spread across 55 acres, the facility aims to nurture young talent while promoting recreational sports and active lifestyles.

Powar started his coaching career almost a decade back as the Vidarbha Under-19 team's head coach for two years. Subsequently, he became a batting coach at the MCA’s academy at BKC, and then the Mumbai Under-16 head coach. He was also a Mumbai senior team's selector, and the West Zone head coach in the Duleep Trophy last season, and a member of the MCA’s Apex Council as a representative of the Indian Cricketers Association (ICA).