Decision on coach in final stages

The process of naming a new coach for the Bangladesh cricket team is in full flow as former coach Richard Pybus outlined his plans for the team in a presentation to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday. The BCB is all set to finalise the new head coach of the Tigers in the upcoming board meeting on December 10 and yesterday president Nazmul Hassan hinted at a candidate who is yet to be named.

Hassan spoke to the media after the meeting with Pybus and informed that former West Indies cricketer and coach Phil Simmons will also arrive for an interview, while keeping everyone in the dark about a third possible candidate.

"Phil Simmons will arrive on December 9 and before him there is another coach who will come for the interview but I am not able to disclose his name at the moment as it's not finalised yet and  we are also in talks with a few others. They have to arrive by this time as we want to finalise the issue in the upcoming board meeting on December 10," Nazmul told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Mirpur.

According to sources former Australian cricketer and coach Geoff Marsh is likely to arrive before Simmons and the BCB is very interested in him, but there is very little chance for Marsh to eventually become the Tigers' head coach. However it was also learned that the senior cricketers have shown interest in Simmons but the board seems less keen on the West Indian.

Hassan said that the 53-year old Pybus, who left the Bangladesh job in October 2012 citing interference of the then AHM Mustafa Kamal-led board after serving only four months, initiated the process of coming back into the Bangladesh coaching picture.

"He is still saying those things but I don't want to talk about the previous board. I have asked him why you want to join Bangladesh again and he gave the answer but I don't think I should disclose what he said. Obviously we do have that incident in our mind and we did ask a lot of questions regarding that issue," he said.

Meanwhile Pybus, who arrived on Tuesday with an interest in becoming the Tigers' head coach, gave a presentation which mainly focused on long-term planning such as regional cricket development, including the institution of a centre of excellence that is not focused on Dhaka.

"Obviously his presentation was good -- he mainly focused on long term planning but what we have to make sure it is both long and short term as we have the World Cup in 2019, so it's also important for us. However, whatever he wants, we may not give those instantly but at the end his plan will definitely help Bangladesh cricket," Hassan added.

He also informed that the board will have a meeting regarding the issue with assistant coach Richard Halsall, team manager Khaled Mahmud, other coaching staff and players on December 9.

After the presentation, the media were eagerly waiting for Pybus who was expected to leave last night. "It was a wonderful day and the meeting was fantastic," was all Pybus would say about the meeting.