BCB cautious on coach issue
The short training camp of the Sri Lanka-bound national team will kick off today at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. After the two-day camp the Tigers will leave for Colombo on Sunday to take part in the tri-nation T20I tournament also involving Sri Lanka and India.
Courtney Walsh was given the responsibility to tune up the team for the tour and it is all but confirmed that Mahmudulllah Riyad is going to lead the team in the Nidahas Trophy as ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has very little chance of fully recovering from a finger injury before the tournament. As it is a T20 series -- a format that is still not a suitable one for the Tigers -- expectations are not high and fans will likely just want to see some good and positive cricket so that the team can regain their confidence after crushing home losses to Sri Lanka.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) are now more concerned with finding a suitable head coach for the national team to fill the void left by Chandika Hathurusingha's departure last November.
Although only a few people on the board have been in the negotiation process of finding a new head coach and are still working on the issue with a select few candidates, speculation surrounding the identity of Hathurusingha's successor has been rife. Quoting BCB sources, many have speculated about probable new head coaches and interestingly, even Richard Pybus's name came to the fore. However, it was learnt that Pybus, who was the first coach to come to the city to give his presentation, is not in the picture.
The off-the-record disclosure of names has actually had the effect of diminishing the board's negotiating position and made the jobs of those who are actually communicating with candidates difficult.
The BCB's main objective is to find a suitable coach like Hathurusingha as the debacle in the last series made it clear that they need someone in the mould of the Sri Lankan to keep the team on track. The board, recognising the importance of the right man in the hot seat, are avoiding rushing into the appointment of a new head coach.
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