KAMPALA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Uganda has unveiled former Kenyan international Steve Tikolo as the new head coach of the national cricket team.

Cricket Uganda made the announcement on Friday during an official ceremony in Entebbe. The experienced Kenyan replaces India's Abhay Sharma, whose tenure ended in October 2025.

Tikolo has put pen to paper for a three-year deal and this will be his third coaching stint with Uganda, according to Cricket Uganda.

The cricket body said the recruitment process, which started in January this year, attracted 75 applicants from across the cricket world, including coaches from New Zealand, England, South Africa and India.

Tikolo said he was happy to return for the third time to coach the Uganda Cricket Cranes. He previously served the team as a batting coach from 2012 to 2013 and later as head coach from 2016 to 2019.

"My motivation to apply was that I was here the second time we did well. My goal was to take the team to the World Cup, but that didn't happen. For me that is unfinished business with the Cricket Cranes because I played at the World Cup and I would love to take Uganda there as a coach now," added Tikolo.

Besides playing in five World Cups, Tikolo enjoyed an international career spanning nearly 18 years. During that time, he played 135 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 15 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for Kenya national cricket team. His attractive batting, useful part-time bowling and leadership role made him the face of Kenyan cricket during its heyday in the early 2000s. ■