Former national team captain Mohammad Ashraful has been appointed as the specialist batting coach, while former spinner and current board director Abdur Razzak will be the team director for the forthcoming Ireland series, announced the Bangladesh Cricket Board on Monday night.听
Ashraful, who has completed level-3 of coaching, is currently overseeing Barishal in the National Cricket League as the head coach. He was also the head coach of the same team in the NCL T20.听
鈥楢shraful has the experience 鈥� that鈥檚 a given. He has already completed the coaching courses, and mainly his experience was the key for us [to choose him] in this role,鈥� said Razzak during a press conference at the Sher-e Bangla Stadium following a board meeting.听
Ashraful will join head coach Phil Simmons and Mohammad Salahuddin鈥攚ho has been overseeing the batting department since returning to the national setup鈥攚ith others.听
Razzak said that the board felt the batting needed more attention. In recent times, the batting has been a consistent concern for the national team.听
鈥楽alahuddin bhai is the senior assistant coach. There wasn鈥檛 any discussion about anyone failing to do their job or anything like that. And no one has been sacked from their post,鈥� said Razzak.听
On his new role, Razzak said that it鈥檚 nothing new for the national team.听
He said, 鈥楳y role will be like any other team director鈥檚 role. I will observe, keep an eye on things, and if anyone needs any help, I鈥檒l provide it. If they need anything, I鈥檒l try to help.鈥�
鈥楾he cricket board thought a team director might help the side, and it鈥檚 nothing new 鈥� this post has been there for a while. In recent times, there wasn鈥檛 much director presence with the team since there were no directors on the board,鈥� he added.听
The BCB also announced that the female cricketers would get 75 US dollars, which was increased from 50 USD, as their daily allowances during a series or tour. Their salary was also increased by 50 per cent.听
BCB directors Khaled Mashud, Asif Akbar, and Amzad Hussain were also present at the press conference.听
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