BCB Ready With New Role For Mushfiqur Rahim, Major Decision Revealed

BCB Ready With New Role For Mushfiqur Rahim [Source: AFP]

In a significant turn of events, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is reportedly planning to keep former stars involved in cricket even after they retire by offering them coaching and mentoring roles.

Since former cricketer Tamim Iqbal took over the chairmanship of the BCB, ex-players have received a lot of importance and attention. His vision to use the past generation’s expertise to shape the present and future of Bangladesh cricket is slowly turning into a realistic plan.

Mushfiqur Rahim is likely to become a coach

According to Cricbuzz, the BCB wants veteran wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim to join Bangladesh's coaching setup once he retires from international cricket.  

Mushfiqur has already retired from ODIs and T20Is and currently plays only Test cricket. The board says that whenever he decides to retire completely, it hopes to bring him into coaching or player development.

The move comes after former Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah recently accepted coaching responsibilities. He has been appointed the batting coach of the Bangladesh A team for its Australia tour and mentor for Bangladesh's U19 team.

Hence, the BCB expects Mushfiqur Rahim to follow the same path and step into the realm of coaching after closing the curtains on his playing career.

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Why does the BCB want Rahim so desperately?

BCB Game Development Chairman Faim Sinha believes players like Mushfiqur possess invaluable experience. Rahim has played international cricket for nearly two decades, and his knowledge can help develop the next generation of Bangladeshi cricketers.

"Mahmudullah, Mushfiq, those who have played at this level in our country, who played international cricket for so many years at the top level and their caliber, presenting that experience to our players, making that arrangement, is our responsibility," he said.

Sinha even said it would be the BCB's failure if they were unable to convince Mushfiqur to contribute after retirement.

"Of course, I mean, we will definitely say this, if Mushfiq has a coaching interest or interested in working with cricket, with the experience he has of playing international cricket for so many years, or the progress in modern-day cricket that he has witnessed with his own eyes throughout his entire career, we will definitely want Mushfiq to come here and contribute, it will be our failure if we cannot bring him in," he added.

Mushfiqur Rahim’s recent performance

Having said that, on the field, Bangladesh suffered a devastating defeat against Zimbabwe in the one-off Test held at Harare last month. Batting first, Bangladesh were bowled out for just 140 runs with Mushfiqur Rahim scoring 9 off 21 balls.

In response, Zimbabwe hammered 410 runs in their first innings to take a huge lead. Innocent Kaia scored 140 while Brian Bennett, Craig Ervine and Wessly Madhevere contributed with a half-century each.

Bangladesh again struggled with the bat as Zimbabwe crushed them for 185/10 to seal a historic innings and 85-run victory. Rahim scored 34 off 62 balls but didn’t get any support from the other end. The series will now continue with the 3-game ODI series, followed by a 3-game T20I series.

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