Stuart MacGill likely to become Bangladesh's spin-bowling coach
The former Australian leg-spinner might be roped in to be a part of the Bangladesh support staff
What's the story?
Nazmul Hasan, the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, has revealed that former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill is the first choice to fill in the role of the national team's spin-bowling coach.
"We have a shortlist of some spin bowling coaches and all of them showed interest to work with the Bangladesh team. But MacGill is our first choice. There is a possibility that we can bring him before the home series against Australia," he revealed while talking to reporters.
MacGill is the front-runner to replace Ruwan Kalpage, who was sacked from the position last year. BCB are likely to get into a short-term contract with the Australian to try and oversee how things go between him and the team.
"At the moment, we are not in favour of giving long term contract to any of our coaches because there are many other factors involved in it," Nazmul concluded.
In case you didn't know...
Bangladesh have had a successful season so far. They reached the semi-final of the first ever Champions Trophy that they qualified for.
Former Sri Lankan cricketer Chandika Hathurusingha was appointed as the head coach of the team in May 2014 and has had a successful stint with them so far. However, the board has still not found the right support staff for the team as they keep exploring new options for its bowling coaches.
The details
MacGill hasn't had any international coaching experience as of now, but has mentored some Australian spinners here and there.
The BCB wants MacGill to sign a short term contract, which will include series against Australia and South Africa, so that both the parties can understand each other's way of functioning.
Nazmul stated that the board will oversee the team's progress under the new coach's tutelage and will then take the next step based on the performance.
What next?
Australia's tour to Bangladesh will be crucial in determining the latter's current standing in world cricket. The team is doing well as a whole but they need to take the next step to step out of their comfort zone and make it big at the international level.
Coaches like MacGill, who have immense knowledge of their niche, will definitely help the team look forward to such feats.
Author's take
Both the BCB and the Bangladesh team have to ensure that they take cricket in the country to the next level now. The side has always created problems for bigger names in world cricket but has somehow struggled to scrape the 'minnows' tag off itself in the past decade.
You would hope that valuable additions like MacGill in the support staff of the team will add more substance to their game so as to help them make the transition to the next level.