Bangladesh likely to have Steve Rhodes as coach

Former English wicket-keeper and Yorkshire veteran Steve Rhodes is likely to be appointed as the head coach of the Bangladesh Cricket Team, a position that has been vacant for a while after their last coach Chandika Hathurusingha resigned under vaguely documented circumstances in October 2017 following periods of disagreement and rifts between him and the board officials.

Rhodes is expected to arrive in Bangladesh to appear for an interview that will finalize his induction into the position of the head coach of the side, as verified by Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury earlier this afternoon.

Rhodes was recommended for the position by coaching stalwart Gary Kirsten, who was appointed by the BCB to help them in the execution of the process of finding the appropriate professional to marshall the Bangladeshi troops off the field after they have had disappointing results lately. He is expected to start his tenure after the series with Afghanistan, in the period preceding Bangladesh's tour of West Indies.

After more than 400 appearances for Yorkshire in both first-class and List-A competitions each, Rhodes has held many a capacity in cricket administration prior to this appointment. Post-retirement, he became Director of Cricket at Worcestershire cricket and was instrumental in their promotion to Division 1 of the County Championship. In Ed Smith's newly initiated regime as the selector of the English cricket team, Rhodes was one of the appointments whose task involved scouting for young talents in the domestic competitions to have a better look at them by the authorities presiding over and to nurture them for the grind of international cricket.

However, despite his extensive experience in managing the talents of cricketers, Rhodes was not Bangladesh's first choice. According to reports, Richard Pybus and Phil Simmons were also interviewed for the position.

"We had initially approached big names and experienced coaches but they couldn't come because of various reasons. Among the currently available coaches, Rhodes is the most experienced. Also, the 2019 World Cup will be held in England which is another reason that we are looking at him,'' said Chowdhury emphasizing on the familiarity of Rhodes with the venues at the all-important World Cup next year.