Former Sri Lankan left-arm off-spinner Rangana Herath has denied the opportunity to reunite with Bangladesh Cricket as their spin bowling coach. The Bangladesh cricket board had offered him a 200-day role in which he would have worked with spinners across the country instead of taking over the national side.
However, Rangana Herath has closed off all the negotiations following discussions with the BCB about a possible return to the country’s cricketing ecosystem. He was first appointed as Bangladesh’s spin bowling consultant back in 2021, specifically for that year’s ICC T20 World Cup in UAE.
Herath had joined alongside former South African batter Ashwell Prince who joined as the team’s batting consultant. The Sri Lankan had succeeded former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori as the spin mentor whose 100-day contract had come to an end at that time.
In his first major assignment with Bangladesh in the T20 WC 2021, Rangana Herath saw the Asian outfit bow out of the tournament from the group stages itself after failing to win any of their 5 Group A matches. They were placed alongside eventual champions Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies.
It was by far their worst performance in an ICC event and their favors did not change in the following year’s edition at Land Down Under. The Bangla Tigers were again knocked out from the group stages but they had at least won 2 games in the 2022 edition.
Their Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign saw them finish 8th in the points table. As a result, they missed out on direct qualification for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan. Their next major assignment in an ICC tournament will come during the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies later this June.
Bangladesh were planning to bring back Rangana Herath as the national team spin coach by keeping the T20 WC in mind but now they have to look elsewhere. BCB ops chairman Jalal Yunus while speaking to media reporters a couple of days ago, claimed that Herath has turned their offer and they are already exploring other options for the vacant role.
“Herath is not with us. The offer we made to him (Herath) he did not accept and so he is no more with us.” – Jalal Yunus told reporters at Sher-e-Bangla stadium.
BCB To Take Virtual Interviews For Vacant Positions After Rangana Herath Rejection
Jalal Yunus further indicated that the BCB has shortlisted a few names after Rangana Herath refused to join their project. The apex board will be conducting virtual interviews of all the candidates who have applied for the vacant positions of strength & conditioning coach, batting coach, fast bowling coach, analyst for the national side, and national team assistant coach for the next 2 calendar years.
“The head coach will arrive on February 20 and we are working to fill the vacant positions. We have a committee that includes Naimur Rahman, Khaled Mahmud, the CEO, David Moore, and me. Today we sat and made the short list and very soon we will take an interview. We will take virtual interview on February 6 from the shortlist.” – Jalal concluded.