Daniel Vettori could be replaced by Rangana Herath as Bangladesh's spin-bowling coach

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cricket operations chairman Akram Khan has confirmed that Rangana Herath is the frontrunner to replace Daniel Vettori as Bangladesh's spin-bowling coach.

According to Cricbuzz, India's Sairaj Bahutule and Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal are the other two candidates on BCB's list.

"Herath is one of the candidates and he is certainly a front-runner for the post," said Khan.

Vettori was unable to continue his duties as the spin-bowling coach due to the pandemic. The BCB roped in local coach Sohel Islam to fill the role during the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. However, Islam will not be able to travel with the squad to Zimbabwe after opting for a paternal leave.

"We would try our best to finalise it before the Zimbabwe tour as Australia will be touring Bangladesh just after the Zimbabwe tour with New Zealand and England following suit," Khan further clarified.

Bangladesh recently beat Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series at home, claiming their first-ever bilateral series win against the Lankans.

Rangana Herath is a Sri Lankan legend

Rangana Herath picked up over 500 wickets in international cricket

Rangana Herath is one of the finest-ever cricketers to play for the island nation. From 93 Tests, Herath claimed 433 wickets at a strike rate of 60.03. In addition, he has 34 five-wicket hauls and 9 ten-wicket hauls to his name in the format.

Herath made his international debut in 1999 against Australia and with over 500 international wickets across formats, he is considered one of the best spinners in the world. After being in the shadow of Muttiah Muralitharan for the early parts of his career, Herath went on to become Sri Lanka's front-line spinner post the former's retirement.

Rangana Herath is also Sri Lanka's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, only behind the legendary Muralitharan himself. He retired in 2018 at the age of 40.

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