Andy Flower named as head coach of Maratha Arabians

Former English head coach Andy Flower, who ended his 12-year association with the ECB a few days ago, has been named as the head coach of Abu Dhabi T10 side Maratha Arabians. The ECB had earlier said in a statement that the 51-year-old had left "to pursue other opportunities", and this news comes in the wake of him parting ways with England. 

"I have just come off a tremendous run with English cricket and am now looking ahead to the future with hope," Flower said, reported ESPN Cricinfo.

"Anything that is new and is innovative like T10 cricket always has an automatic appeal. From a coaching perspective it presents new challenges to test yourself against in a world-class environment," he added.

Flower is a seasoned veteran in coaching, having first started off as an assistant to Peter Moores way back in 2007. He took over as the head coach of the English National team in 2009 and under his mentorship, the side won its first-ever ICC World tournament, the 2010 T20 World Cup. England also won away in India and Australia under Flower, but the 51-year-old was given the sack after England's disastrous 2013/14 Ashes campaign that saw them getting whitewashed by Australia. 

The Arabians reached the semi-finals last season, finishing fourth and this season, have already confirmed that they will have the services of Dwayne Bravo, along with Lasith Malinga and Afghanistan pair Hazratullah Zazai and Najibullah Zadran. The franchise have also signed Australia's Chis Lynn as an 'icon player' ahead of Wednesday's draft.