Daniel Vettori appointed coach of Rajshahi Kings in BPL

Daniel Vettori will start his first assignment in Bangladesh with the Rajshahi Kings

What's the story?

Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has been appointed as the head coach of the Rajshahi Kings franchise in the Bangladesh Premier League. The former left-arm orthodox will coach the side for the 2018 as well as the 2019 season.

In case you didn't know..

This is the first time that Vettori has taken up a coaching assignment in Bangladesh. Already, the 39-year-old had been working as the head coach of multiple T20 franchises across the globe: the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, the Brisbane Heat in the BBL and Middlesex in county cricket in England.

The heart of the matter

During the 2016 and the 2017 seasons, the position of the head coach at the Rajshahi Kings belonged to Sarwar Imran. Under his stewardship, the side ended up as runners-up in 2016, but could only manage the second last spot in the following season in 2017. But the franchise welcomed its new appointment with a smile. "With his experience as a specialist coach in the T20 format, Daniel will not only help the team but the local youngsters to learn and excel in this very exciting format," said the Rajshahi Kings CEO Tahmeed Huq.

What's next?

Before Vettori departs for his maiden stint as a coach in Bangladesh, he will have to see off the IPL, which begins on April 7, with his team the Royal Challengers Bangalore first having retained stalwarts like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, and then having bought the likes of Brendon McCullum, Quinton de Kock and others.

Author's Take

In the modern-day game of cricket which demands a specialist coach for each and every department, we are gradually seeing the emergence of specialist T20 coaches as well. Before Vettori, other big names like Ricky Ponting and Gary Kirsten have also coached numerous T20 sides, including the national team in the case of Ponting. And with one T20 league after the other expanding every day, this trend might continue in the times to come.