Herath likely to return but not as spin bowling coach

He will take on a mentoring role for the country's spinners

FE Team | Published: January 06, 2024 21:29:20

Rangana Herath, Bangladesh's former spin bowling coach, is aiming to take on a mentoring role for the country's spinners, shifting his focus away from the national cricket team, according to Cricbuzz.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) recently posted advertisements for various coaching positions that became vacant at the conclusion of existing contracts.
On January 03, they issued advertisements for positions including strength and conditioning coach, batting coach, pace bowling coach, and analyst for the national cricket team, as well as the national team's assistant coach for the next two years.
Surprisingly, there was no advertisement for the position of spin bowling coach, which remained vacant after Herath's departure. Similarly, the role of fielding coach was left vacant following the exit of Shane McDermott.
It has been revealed that the current assistant coach, Nic Pothas, will be responsible for overseeing the fielding department in the coming days.
The online sports portal understands that the BCB has proposed a new role to Herath, more in line with a spin mentor, working with slow bowlers across various age groups, rather than being the spin coach for the national cricket team.
As per the new offer letter, Herath is expected to spend 200 days in Bangladesh, guiding spinners across the country, instead of serving as the national team's spin coach on an annual basis.
BCB officials emphasised that there are times when a spin coach may not be required in the national team, considering the minimal number of spinners (one or two). Instead, they aim to utilise Herath in developing spinners at the age-level group and High Performance Unit.
Herath confirmed receiving the offer letter but stated, "I will speak to my lawyer and need to go through that, and I will respond as soon as possible."
Discussing the proposed arrangement of 200 days per year, Herath expressed enthusiasm, stating, "I am pretty keen on working that way because, you know, since we don't have many spin bowling coaches, I'd like to get together with whoever we have at the moment to share my knowledge and expertise with the coaches as well as with the players."
He emphasised his desire to develop a solid foundation for spinners, saying, "That's what I always say (mentoring spinners of Bangladesh). Even in the last two and a half years, I worked with the national team and conducted three to four spin bowling camps. I would like to continue the same thing, and I am sure all the spinners will be on the same page. That's the main idea so that we can work together once we have a proper base."