BCB trying to rope in Gary Kirsten as the batting consultant

Coach Chandika Hathurusinghe’s sudden departure came as a huge blow to Bangladesh Cricket, and the damage needs to be aided as soon as possible. The cricket board admitted that they now have their back stuck to the walls and revealed that the committee is in talks with Protea legend Gary Kirsten to help the team as a consultant.

The legendary left-hander is currently associated with the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League and therefore turned down the board’s offer for being the head coach of Bangladesh. However, it is believed that Kirsten showed interest in joining the bunch as a consultant. Kirsten’s record as the head coach has been a tremendous one which includes India’s victorious WICC World Cup Campaign in 2011.

Also read: (IPL 2018: Gary Kirsten Likely to Join Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Speaking about the same Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hassan said that the committee is hunting for the perfect man who will understand and adapt to the environment.

“We are on the back foot, that’s for sure,” BCB president Nazmul Hassan told EspnCricinfo. “[Chandika] Hathurusingha’s departure has been a blow. You can’t just take any coach, but someone who fits our environment and mentality. Bangladesh has reached a level which requires us to be thoughtful about bringing a quality coach. Not much chance of a trial and error; we cannot change much in our team. We are not in any hurry,” he added.

About recruiting Gary Kirsten, Nazmul continued:

“We were talking to Gary Kirsten for a consultant’s role. He would help us figure out what coach to hire for our national team, high-performance side and the Under-19s. He is booked up to February, in the Big Bash. He is involved with the IPL and Big Bash, which is why he is not interested to be the head coach. If we permitted him to work in those leagues, then he may have agreed with us. But we can’t let our head coach go like that, which is what we have decided.”

Neil McKenzie, Grant Flower and Hashan Tillakaratne are the other contenders for the job.

“We are very close to announcing someone as a batting consultant. We wanted someone full-time but the person we’ve chosen is of a higher level. He said we don’t need a full-time batting consultant. He has said he will be here ahead of every series and when there are long breaks,” Hassan concluded.