Russell Domingo has been appointed as the Bangladesh head coach with his contract set to run for two years, the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced on Saturday (August 17). Domingo, the former coach of South Africa, will start his stint with the Bangladesh team from August 21.
Domingo was part of a three-man shortlist that included Mike Hesson (who lost out on the India coach race) and Mickey Arthur (whose contract as Pakistan coach was not extended). Domingo will take over from Khaled Mahmud, who was appointed interim coach of the Bangladesh team for the recent series against Sri Lanka after the BCB decided against renewing the contract of Steve Rhodes following the 2019 World Cup.
“We have decided to pick Russell as he will be available. There were other candidates but we wanted someone who could be available for us and certainly he has got the experience. We want a coach who can have a long term plan and he fits that because he is not interested to take leave,” said BCB president Nazmul Hasan. “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.
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“We are very delighted to see that a lot of high profiled coaches expressed their eagerness to work with us. I thanked them from the bottom of my heart to show their interest. It was very difficult for us to select the head coach as lot of high profiled coaches showed their interest. So it was a tough decision to take for us.
“There were three candidates who were in our top list. We have to set the criteria to make our choice. The most important criteria was the availability. Some of the interested candidates cannot come in this moment as they have commitments in other places. We also seek a full time coach which was also in one of our criteria.
“Today we confirmed Russell Domingo as our head coach. In fact we confirmed it yesterday. Today we officially informed you about the matter. He has a vast coaching experience. He started coaching comparatively in early age. In 202 he first worked with South African team. He will join the Bangladesh national team on August 21. We have a one-off Test match against Afghanistan and also a tri-series against Afghanistan and Zimbabwe here and we will then travel to India.
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“There is no fix days in his contract. Initially, we pick him for next two years. He says he is very keen to work with the boys and didn’t want any holiday break. These are the areas where we find him suitable for the post,” the BCB president added.
Having renewed the contract of batting coach Neil McKenzie, BCB had recently appointed former South Africa pacer Charl Langeveldt as the pace bowling coach while Daniel Vettori was named the the spin coach. Both McKenzie and Langeveldt were part of the South Africa coaching staff that included Domingo.
Domingo, who played junior level cricket for Eastern Province, couldn’t make it to the senior team. Post that, at the age of 22, he acquired his first coaching qualification and at 25, he became the youth coach for Eastern Province.
He was selected as the coach for the South Africa U-19 side at the 2004 Under-19 World Cup which was held in Bangladesh. As a franchise coach, Domingo led Warriors to the domestic limited overs double (40-over and 20-over competitions) in 2009-10. It was during this period, he recruited Gary Kirsten as the team’s batting consultant. Domingo was at the helm for Warriors during the 2010 and 2011 editions of the Champions League.
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After serving as a coach for the A team, Domingo was appointed as South Africa’s assistant coach in June 2011 under the then newly appointed national coach Kirsten. He was named as South Africa’s Twenty20 International coach in December 2012 before replacing Kirsten in all formats in May 2013, following the latter’s resignation. He was in charge of the Proteas till 2017. During Domingo’s tenure, South Africa made it to semifinals of the 2014 World Twenty20 in Bangladesh and the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking about his appointment, Domingo said: “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. 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.”
Bangladesh’s next international assignment is the one-off Test against Afghanistan in September, following which they are part of a tri-series which also involves Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
. Domingo, the former coach of South Africa, will start his stint with the Bangladesh team from August 21.){kind=link}