Sports Desk: Bangladesh on Saturday named South Africa’s Russell Domingo as the new head coach of the national cricket team, ending long speculations over the crucial post.
The 44-year-old South African has agreed a two-year term with the Bangladesh Cricket Board and is expected to arrive in Dhaka on August 21 to take charge of the national team, said the BCB.
‘He has a wealth of experience and we have been very impressed with his passion and coaching philosophy. He has a clear idea of what is required to take the team forward,’ BCB president Nazmul Hasan said announcing the decision.
Domingo, the only candidate to face an interview personally for the post when he arrived in Dhaka on August 7, was eagerly looking ahead to his new challenge.
‘It is a massive honour to be appointed the head coach of the Bangladesh national cricket Team. I have followed Bangladesh’s progress with keen interest and I am extremely excited to assist the team in reaching the goals that they are capable of,’ a BCB statement quoted him as saying.
‘I look forward to continuing the ongoing development of current players whilst also looking towards the future and developing some new bright stars from within the talent pool of Bangladesh cricket,’ he said.
Domingo had played junior cricket for Eastern Province before moving into coaching at an early age.
He became South Africa Under-19 coach for the 2004 ICC Under19 World Cup in Bangladesh. In 2010,
Domingo was made the coach of South Africa A for the tour of Bangladesh.
Domingo was appointed Assistant Coach of the South Africa national team in 2011 and took over from Gary Kirsten as coach of the T20 squad in December 2012 before replacing Kirsten as national team head coach in 2013.
He held the post up to 2017.
He has led South Africa to semi-finals of the 2014 ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh and the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Domingo has also coached the Warriors franchise in South Africa’s domestic one-day and Twenty20 competitions and at the Champions League Twenty20.
He replaced Englishman Steve Rhodes as Bangladesh coach. The BCB parted ways with Rhodes after Bangladesh finished eighth in the league phase of the recent World Cup.