‘Growth of players and coaches are parallel’
The role of a coach, especially in developing any individual player, often remains in the shadow of all the uproar created by the outcome of his impact. It is only when the tutee acknowledges the mentor's hard work that his overall impact in the game is truly reflected.
Time and again, Bangladesh cricketers have credited their childhood mentors for their role in the reinstatement of the players' position in the game or for their sudden transformation following a long-stretching lean patch. How Shakib Al Hasan turned around from having a poor 2019 IPL campaign to delivering one of the best ever performances in the ODI World Cup the same year with the help of his mentor Mohammad Salahuddin is a story very well known to everyone related to Bangladesh cricket.
Shakib often seeks his mentor's help and so do Taskin Ahmed and many other players in the national squad. Taskin went under a massive transformation in recent times and for that, the pacer credited his childhood mentor Mahbub Ali Zaki.
Most recently, off-spinner Mehedi Hasan Miraz, whose four wickets proved pivotal in helping Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka in the first match of the three-match ODI series on Sunday, talked about how local coach Sohel Islam and his other mentor Nazmul Abedeen Fahim helped the spinner.
"Miraz now knows how to keep patience. He now realises the importance of containing runs even if he is not getting a wicket after bowling two or three overs," Sohel, while talking to The Daily Star, pointed out the change in Mehedi's mindset.
Mehedi's recent purple patch in limited-overs format has seen him climb to number five in ODI bowling ranking. Be it Shakib's upturn in form, Taskin's transformation or Mehedi's achievements, the impact of local coaches in Bangladesh cricket has been noteworthy.
Hence, is it not obvious that to ensure a better foundation for cricket in the country, both development of players and the ones who help them, the coaches, should go hand in hand?
Nazmul, with whom Mehedi admitted to having communicated over the phone for guidelines during Tigers' tour of Sri Lanka last month, mentioned that the development of coaches and players is aligned.
"This [growth of coaches and players] is parallel. Players cannot achieve things on their own. They would certainly need guidelines. And for that, it is very important that quality coaches come up through the pipeline as well," said Nazmul.
Players usually get the service of foreign coaches such as Bangladesh bowling coach Ottis Gibson or spin consultant Daniel Vettori only during national camps and during any tours or before international games. But for the majority of time, players work with their childhood mentors and local coaches to develop their game.
Sometimes, even working with two groups of coaches and adhering to two sets of instructions end up complicating things for players. That's certainly what happened to Taijul Islam, who had once changed his natural bowling action and mirrored Vettori's action only to later realise his mistake and switch back.
According to Nazmul, this gap can be bridged if the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) steps in and allows local coaches to work with foreign coaches side by side. And referring to players as 'machines', Nazmul explained the reason behind it.
"It would be great if they [local and foreign coaches] can work together. That way, even the local coaches can learn a lot. Also, it can help our players. The local coaches have been working with the players since they played age-level cricket. So they [local coaches] know the ins and outs of a player and his inner abilities well. It is important to know about the machine before working with it. And it's the local coaches who know better about the machines," said Nazmul.