Donald to step down as Bangladesh bowling coach after World Cup
Bangladesh's fast bowling coach Allan Donald will leave his post after the team's final match in the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup against Australia in Pune on Saturday.
"Yes, I'm done and going home." Donald told The Daily Star on Thursday.
Donald was not particularly happy with how the reasons behind his departure was being communicated. But his mindset regarding the Bangladesh team and fast-bowling group will not change, he said. BCB had yesterday sought an explanation from Donald following his remarks on Angelo Mathews timed out incident.
"I've had a great run and I sort of regard this fast-bowling group as my friends. They're my mates and I really really cannot describe how much high regard I have for this fast-bowling group.
"From day one back in Centurion Park to where the Bangladeshi bus picked me up and dropped me off at Pune, was a nice run. It was a really amazing and I want to say that and I mean this , this fast-bowling group and all of them Ebadot [Hossain], Khaled [Ahmed] and the five other guys that makes up seven and a few youngsters that I chatted with back in Bangladesh.
"I wanted to make sure that that fast-bowling group gets better and bigger. It's now all gone, but I want to say that they are my friends. They are my closest friends. And I came in here on day one and I put a plan on the table," Donald said.
Donald had taken charge of the Tigers' pace-bowling unit in March last year ahead of the T20 World Cup. He had replaced Otis Gibson who despite being liked by his protégés, did not have a happy ending with Bangladesh cricket either.
"I put a mindset on the table and these kids decided that they're going to give it a go if they didn't I wasn't much of a factor. The way they responded was to make something of it and I am so super proud today to say that. So, yeah, I want to thank Bangladesh cricket I always knew that this project was going to be a big one, a hands-on one. It was going to take some testing from me and patience from me and vigilance from me to make this work. Right from Taskin, all the way down, I will never forget them," he concluded.