Bangladesh team arrived in Zimbabwe on Wednesday (30 June) to play a bilateral series that included Tests, ODI, and T20I. Bangladesh added two more newly appointed coaching staff for this tour. Sri Lankan Rangana Herath has been named as the spin coach, while South African Ashwell Prince has been appointed as the batting consultant. Bangladesh already have Russell Domingo as head coach, Ottis Gibson as pace bowling coach, and Ryan Cook as fielding coach. National team players should perform better on the international stage with this current coaching setup. This article discusses what Bangladesh cricket fans can expect from Herath and Prince.
Things Rangana Herath will be expected to do as Spin Coach
Former Sri Lankan international Rangana Herath has taken over as Bangladesh's spin coach from Daniel Vettori. He'll be in charge of the spinners until the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin in October this year.
One of the main obstacles with Daniel Vettori was language. Players had a hard time understanding his lessons despite having a translator on hand to help. Another important factor was the culture. Vettori wasn’t completely familiar with the culture and mindset of this part of the world. Sometimes he couldn't figure out what the players really wanted from him?
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In such scenarios, Rangana Herath would be a lot better choice for coaching Bangladeshi fringe players. We've seen previously how Chandika Hathurusinghe transformed Bangladesh's national team and was able to get the best out of his players.He knew how to encourage players to perform at their best on the field because he understood their psyche.
Similarly, as a sub-continent player, Herath is fully acquainted with the mentality of the players and what motivates them to perform better on the field. Herath may give players a one-on-one lesson in which he can share his knowledge and properly advise them.
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Herath may work with the upcoming talents who have the potential to represent Bangladesh in the near future. His presence would be extremely beneficial to the next generation of cricketers.
Bangladesh cricket fans hope that Herath would become more involved in the country's culture and offer his priceless insights into the country's raw talent. It will be beneficial for Herath as well if he succeeds.
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Things Ashwell Prince will be expected to do as Batting Consultant
During his stint as a batting adviser for Bangladesh's national team, Neil McKenzie had a great time. Opener Liton Das openly admitted how Neil McKenzie helped him develop into a good batsman. For the Zimbabwe series, McKenzie's compatriot Ashwell Prince has been assigned to a similar role. BCB may extend his contract depending on how well he does on the tour.
How can Ashwell Prince impress the BCB and earn a long-term contract with the cricket board? First and foremost, Prince must dig into the root causes of Bangladesh's failure to perform as expected in the T20 format. Bangladesh are desperate for big hitters in the shortest form of the game. Unfortunately, no one has yet shown genuine potential, so the hunt continues.
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Ashwell Prince can inspire younger players to improve their mentality in the twenty20 format. Then he can teach them everything they need to know to succeed as a power hitter in this format. If the players respond by taking appropriate lessons from him, his appointment will be deemed beneficial.
In the case of Test cricket, Bangladesh players must have patience and an awareness of the longer version format. They lack understanding of the importance of playing multiple sessions as a batsman because that is the beauty of Test cricket. Batters must have the mindset of putting all of their energy and passion into the game in order to succeed.
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Another crucial factor is to develop the mindset of shifting focus from one format to another. Bangladesh cricket fans would be pleased if Ashwell Prince can bring consistency to the players' batting approach.
Verdict
The BCB selectors named three separate teams for Test, ODI, and T20 formats for the forthcoming Zimbabwe tour. Each format has its own traits, and players must understand how to play in each one. Coaches have a critical role in this. It is important to identify player's shortcomings through developing relationships with them and offering assistance on how to perform to their full potential. Bangladesh cricket fans will have this expectations from both Herath and Prince.
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