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Tuesday March 19, 2024

BCB considering separate coaches for Tests and limited overs

By Agencies
May 24, 2018

DHAKA: Bangladesh are considering the idea, put forward by Gary Kirsten, of appointing separate coaches for red and white-ball cricket.

BCB president Nazmul Hassan said they are still mulling their coaching staff, with primary focus on batting personnel.Hassan said the candidates the BCB has spoken to are “not interested” in taking charge of the Test side. That could mean the board appoints two separate head coaches for Tests and limited-overs cricket, or one coach along with “two or three” batting consultants.

So far, only England have had a separate coach for white-ball cricket, when they appointed Ashley Giles in 2012. Australia have also appointed separate coaches: Ricky Ponting, Steve Rixon and Justin Langer for limited-overs series in the last few years. India considered the idea in 2015.

Hassan had met with Kirsten at his office, which rounded off his three-day trip in Dhaka. On Tuesday, Kirsten met with players, selectors, a coach and the BCB senior management.“There should be separate coaches for red ball and white ball,” Hassan said. “Or we could have two or three consultants under the head coach, for the different formats. We need to keep the specialization of these formats in mind because we cannot really rely on the same mentality. We have to give more importance to Tests.

“The coaches we have spoken to, none of them are interested in Test cricket. They are ready to take charge of the ODI and T20 teams. This change in mindset, particularly after T20s have come, is why Kirsten feels we should have separate red and white ball coaches. But we are still discussing if we can have separate batting coaches under a head coach.”

Kirsten, who is specifically working on recommending a head coach and other coaching positions for Bangladesh, said that the focus should be on appointing someone who can get the team prepared for the 2019 World Cup.

“We have spoken about that [but] we haven’t finalised that yet,” Kirsten said. “I think that is where modern cricket is going. The key is what’s for the best interest of the team.”