Umar Gul ready to ditch Pakistan and become Bangladesh bowling coach

Former fast bowlers Umar Gul and Shaun Tait are among the top contenders to become the new bowling coach of the Bangladesh men's cricket team. It is believed that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is looking for a new bowling coach.

Currently, Andre Adams is the bowling coach of Bangladesh but the board is not satisfied with his performance. As a result, the board is looking for a change and one out of Umar Gul and Shaun Tait will be appointed for the role.

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Umar Gul, Shaun Tait are the contenders for Bangladesh's bowling coach

According to Cricket Pakistan, Umar Gul is a strong contender for this role. Gul has previous experience of coaching international teams like Pakistan and Afghanistan. He served as Afghanistan's bowling coach for the T20 World Cup 2022.

On March 2023, the former Pakistan seamer was appointed Pakistan's interim bowling coach for the series against Afghanistan. Umar Gul has also worked with Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Meanwhile, former Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait was appointed as the bowling consultant to the Afghanistan cricket team in August 2021. He resigned from the post at the end of the year. He has also served as Pakistan's bowling coach for 12 months in the past.

During his coaching stint with Pakistan, Tait worked closely with the country's three premier fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf. All three of them have been Pakistan's first-choice pacers since then in the white-ball formats.

Both Umar Gul and Shaun Tait have played a fair amount of international cricket and have also led the bowling attacks of their respective teams. Their experience can prove to be handy for Bangladesh's young pace attack.

Andre Adams to be sacked

The report further claimed that the BCB is not pleased with the performance of the current bowling coach Andre Adams, who has a contract until February 2026. The BCB had roped in Adams for a period of two years, which started in March 2024.

Under Adams, Bangladesh saw its fast stocks growing at a different level. They have a fast bowling arsenal better than before with a no. of young pacers coming through. The spin bowling has also looked in good shape with the emergence of the legspinner Rishad Hossain.

However, despite having a potent bowling attack, they have been unable to make a mark in ICC events. The BCB feels that there is a need for change in the set-up under the head coach Phil Simmons.

Bangladesh in CT 2025

Bangladesh crashed out of the group stage of Champions Trophy 2025 after losing their first two matches to India and New Zealand respectively. While their bowling looked good, the batting line-up let them down on numerous occasions.

Bangladesh's next assignment is a two-match Test series against Zimbabwe at home. The first Test will be played at Sylhet while the second game will be played in Chattogram. The series will begin on April 20 in Sylhet.