Is Domingo chapter in Bangladesh cricket coming to an end?
Wind of change is raging strongly in Bangladesh cricket. BCB is attempting a near complete overhaul in Bangladesh’s T20 setup ahead of the Asia Cup, which will take place at the UAE.
Indian coach Sridhar Sriram has already been appointed as the technical consultant of the T20 team. His contract with BCB will run until October’s T20 World Cup in Australia. He is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Sunday.
There are also discussions about removing Jamie Siddons from the national team’s coaching setup and instead have him work with the cricketers in the pipeline.
Amidst so many changes in the coaching staff, there are also questions over which way head coach Russell Domingo’s future is heading.
BCB president Nazmul Hassan told reporters at his residence on Friday that BCB’s long term plan is to appoint separate coaches for each format. BCB wants Domingo as the head coach of the ODI and the Test team. The overload of matches in the next FTP is said to be the main reason behind this decision. Moreover, the BCB is also not fond of Domingo’s approach as the coach of the T20 team.
But Domingo is unlikely to like BCB’s new ideas. After a week-long holiday following the Zimbabwe series, he has returned to Bangladesh on Friday. Domingo is scheduled to sit in a meeting with BCB high-ups on 22 August. There are rumours circulating that the meeting could be Domingo’s final meeting with the BCB.
Domingo may not agree with the new direction BCB wants to take the coaching staff and could decide to call it quits. Domingo won’t travel with the team in the Asia Cup, so he is likely to return to South Africa in a few days. Chances of him returning to Bangladesh from South Africa to resume his duties as coach are very slim.
Not just the coaching staff, Domingo has been reportedly disappointed with the cricket board’s activities for some time. It all started last year in Harare. A cricketer behaved badly with Domingo after being left out of the playing XI of the lone Test of the tour. Domingo informed the board about the incident. But BCB didn’t take any action. Since then, Domingo began detaching himself from the team.
Another incident during this year’s Zimbabwe tour further isolated Domingo. He didn’t want Mahmudullah in the team for the final match of the T20 series against Zimbabwe. After Nurul Hasan was out injured, Domingo wanted to replace him with a young player.
But the instruction from Dhaka was to pick Mahmudullah in the team. In the end, Mahmudullah played the match against the wishes of Domingo, which was another big shock for the head coach. A source from the team informed that after this incident Domingo’s disappointment reached its peak.
He no longer wanted to speak about a team where he wasn’t being allowed to make decisions. A source from BCB said, “They don’t let us (BCB) do anything. If someone from outside (Domingo) wants to do something, they don’t even let that happen.”
BCB cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus heavily criticised Domingo and the fellow coaching staff after Bangladesh lost the ODI series in Zimbabwe. He directly alleged that members of the coaching staff don’t possess an attacking mindset. The coaches have failed to inspire the cricketers to play attacking cricket. He also brought up former Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha as an example of an attacking coach.
Domingo has to cope with the pressure from the board while also trying to appease a number of experienced cricketers of the team. For these reasons, a former coach of the team didn’t renew his contract with BCB.
After working for two years, he realised that he won’t get to work with freedom. So, the West Indian coach quit his post. He complained that it’s not possible to coach the Bangladesh team. A section of national team cricketers feel that his departure has greatly damaged the team. It’s rare to see cricketers shed tears during the departure of a foreign coach. Many players couldn’t hold back their tears when he said goodbye.
Domingo didn’t follow him out the door then. He has an agreement with BCB till the 2023 World Cup. Maybe, Domingo had plans to somehow complete his term. But the South African is finding it difficult to cope with the recent wind of change in Bangladesh cricket. Now, he just wants to save himself from all this and breathe a sigh of relief.