The Bangladesh Cricket Board has appointed South African Russell Domingo as head coach of the national team with a two-year contract.
Domingo will arrive in the country on August 21 to take over the team, the BCB said in a press release on August 17. He succeeds Steve Rhodes, whose term of office was shortened after Bangladesh failed to meet the expected highs for the ICC men’s 2019 World Cup cricket.
The 44-year-old Domingo has no experience with first-class cricket, but gained the reputation of a coach at an early age. He was at the head of the South African U19 and Senior Teams and was responsible for reaching the semi-finals of the ICC World T20 2014 and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 for Men. On the national front, he coached South Africa’s warrior side, training them in the Champions League T20.
Bangladesh have called upon ex-New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori and former South Africa seamer Charl Langeveldt to work in their side's bowling department.
— ICC (@ICC) July 28, 2019
Plenty of experience there for the 🇧🇩players to soak up.https://t.co/bvaFrUCXed
“We were very impressed with his passion and his coaching philosophy,” said BCB President Nazmul Hassan in a statement. “He has a clear idea of what’s needed to move the team forward.”
Calling his appointment a “great honor,” Domingo expressed his willingness to build a Bangladeshi squad that has become increasingly strong in white-ball cricket in recent years. “It’s a great honor to be named Head Coach of the Bangladesh Cricket Team.”
He said his focus would be on developing the next generation of players from the country. “I have followed developments in Bangladesh with great interest and I am delighted to support the team in achieving the goals it can achieve.”
“I look forward to continuing with players’ current development while looking to the future and developing some new stars from the talent pool of Bangladesh Cricket,” he said.
He will lead a coaching team that includes strike coach Neil McKenzie and bowling coach Charl Langeveldt, both of whom have been awarded a contract extension after Sri Lanka’s ODI series last month. Daniel Vettori was also hired as the team’s spin-bowling coach.
By the way, both Langeveldt and McKenzie were part of Domingo’s support staff during his time on the South African team between 2013 and 2017.
He will assume the role before the one-off test in Bangladesh against Afghanistan, starting on September 5 in the Chattogram. Immediately thereafter Bangladesh receives Afghanistan and Zimbabwe in a T20I Tri Series.
