New bowling coaches part of new vision
Spin bowling has been a traditional strength for Bangladesh. I hope to share my knowledge as a player and coach of the demands of modern day spin bowling in all versions of the game and help the bowlers make good intelligent decisions so that they can maximise their talents and skills.
Daniel Vettori
Bangladesh spin bowling consultant
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appointed former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori as spin bowling consultant while former South Africa paceman Charl Langeveldt was appointed for the full-time bowling coach position in hopes of taking the national team’s performance to the next level.
BCB president Nazmul Hassan disclosed this information during a press conference following a board meeting at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. Nazmul also said that they will come up with another good bit of news in regards to the appointment of a head coach to fill the vacuum left by the premature departure of Steve Rhodes soon.
In addition, the BCB extended the tenure of Minhajul Abedin as chief selector and Habibul Bashar as selector till next year’s ICC T20 World Cup in Australia as they had no qualms over the performance of the two former national cricketers, who have remained at the helm of selection procedures since 2011. Thus, the speculations regarding changes in the selection panel put to rest.
Hassan also informed that they will take a decision on including another former cricketer in the selection panel later as they did not reach a conclusion on the two probable candidates when the matter was discussed during the meeting. He added that as they stick with their policy of a two-tier selection procedure, Minhajul will lead the selection panel while cricket operations committee chairman Akram Khan will lead the selection committee.
The board also extended the contracts of batting coach Neil Mckenzie and strength and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayen till the T20 World Cup. Hassan informed that poor fielding has become a major headache for them, especially after the dismal performance against Sri Lanka in the first of a three-match ODI series on Friday, however, they are awaiting a report from current fielding coach Ryan Cook before taking any decision regarding the department.
“We have reached a position in world cricket and now we have to go to the next level and we are trying to hire the best people in that vein. We are not worried with the appointment of a new head coach. We are talking with the candidates, including Andy Flower, and we are hopeful that we can give you a positive news within the next few days,” Hassan told reporters after the meeting.
40-year old Black Caps great Vettori has agreed to work with the Bangladesh spinners up until the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia. He will be available for around 100 days in his role with Bangladesh which combines a preparation phase, series’ and tournaments, including the upcoming tour of India, the Asia Cup and tour of New Zealand in 2020. Hassan said that they were looking for a full-time spin coach and had another candidate in that regard but chose Vettori, who was the head coach of Indian Premier League (IPL) side Royal Challengers Bangalore and Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) team Brisbane Heat, even though he will not be able to be here full-time.
Langeveldt will join the Bangladesh team as their full-time pace bowling coach once the Tigers return from the Sri Lanka trip in place of Courtney Walsh, whose contract ended with the World Cup.
Vettori said he was excited with the prospect of guiding Bangladesh’s spin department.
“I have followed Bangladesh cricket for a very long time and have some great memories from touring the country. This is a team on the rise and there is so much experience and potential. It will be a pleasure to work with the likes of Shakib Al Hasan, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam and the other up coming youngsters. I am looking forward to my work with a lot of interest.”
In other major decisions, the board decided to start the 7th Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on December 6. The opening ceremony will be held on December 3.
Hassan said that the board’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place from October 20 to October 28 this year.
The BCB boss also said that the ICC is going to hold an Under-19 Women’s World Cup for the first time and that the board have already expressed a desire to take part in the meet. However, as no Under-19 women’s team exists at the moment, they will make an initiative very soon.
Hassan added that apart from the arrangement of two T20I matches between Asia All Star and Rest of the World to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman next year, they decided to arrange an Under-12 Cricket Carnival all over the country and a Youth T20 Divisional Tournament.
