Hooper wants to be Bangladesh head coach

Dhaka, Jan 17 (IANS/CMC):

Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper is reported to be among the candidates interested in becoming the next head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team.

Chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) media committee Jalal Yunus said Hooper and former New Zealand batsman Mark Greatbatch had expressed their interest informally and were currently weighing their options, reports CMC.

However, Yunus, has refused to provide any details of their negotiation with Hooper and Greatbatch.

“All I can say is that they are both interested,” said Yunus.

Hooper has not had a major international coaching job since he retired from international cricket in 2003.

Two years ago, he was the batting coach of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Sagicor High Performance Centre in Barbados.

“We have sent out an advertisement seeking a coach and that (deadline) ends on January 25, but we are also looking elsewhere,” Yunus said.

“We know that Carl Hooper is interested in taking the job.”

The position of the Bangladesh coach fell vacant after Englishman Richard Pybus refused to continue because of a contract dispute with the country’s cricket board.

If a replacement is not found in time, bowling coach Shane Jurgensen, who acted as interim coach during the home series against West Indies, may be asked to continue for the Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe tours in March-April.

The last date for submitting an application to become the head coach of the cricket team is Jan 25.