Why can’t Bangladesh's cricket team have local head coaches?

Gordon Greenidge, Eddie Barlow, Trevor Chappell, Mohsin Kamal-Ali Zia, Dave Whatmore, Jamie Siddons, Stuart Law, Richard Pybus, Shane Jurgensen, Chandika Hathurusingha, Steve Rhodes, Russell Domingo - anyone who follows Bangladesh cricket more or less must be very familiar with these names.

But what's interesting is that among those names, there is no Bangladeshi. So many years have passed since Bangladesh started playing international cricket but no Bangladeshi has so far taken charge as a long-term head coach of the team. 

But it's not that the local coaches were never involved with the national team set-up. Sarwar Imran, Bangladesh's head coach when they made their Test debut in 2000, played the role sporadically. Former captain Khaled Mahmud was in charge for a few series. Sohel Islam played the role of the bowling coach and the fielding coach. 

But no one was at the helm for a long period of time. No local coach even applied for the position and it's not likely that someone will do so in the near future. But the bigger question is - is there anyone from Bangladesh who is qualified enough to be the head coach of the national team?

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has even relied on coaches from overseas in the Under-19 level and the High Performance (HP) team. Apart from the recently launched Bangladesh Tigers, a shadow team, the BCB hasn't employed local coaches in any cricketing set-up. Nazmul Abedeen Fahim and Mohammad Salahuddin, two of the most revered coaches in the country, reckon that the BCB doesn't have faith in the capability of the local coaches. They spoke in detail to The Business Standard's (TBS) Shanto Mahmud about this issue and also shed light on some other significant factors.

Is it time to think about having a local head coach?

Nazmul Abedeen Fahim: Of course. But just like the process of preparing players for international cricket, there should be a process of preparing coaches for the highest level. It's not easy to utilise your expertise and apply your skills at that level no matter how good a coach you are. But we haven't prepared our coaches for that level. We have so many set-ups - the Under-19 team, HP team, A team - but we've never seen local coaches involved with those teams. It doesn't matter how talented you are as a coach, if you don't work at those levels, you will never understand the challenges at the topmost level.

Mohammad Salahuddin: There are quite a few levels before the national team. Have the coaches here been given chances to work at the lower levels? You don't have the courage to have a local coach at those levels. Then how can you think of having a local head coach for the national team? It's a process. If you see someone handling the A team well, then you'll have the courage to give him a bigger responsibility. But the local coaches have to remain as supporting staff. Players go through a process before being called up to the national team. A similar process has to be maintained when it comes to coaches. But it's non-existent. You are always having them in supporting roles. If you want to make someone the head coach of the national team, at first let him handle the Under-19 team, A team or HP team. Then he can make bold decisions. You can't expect him to do so as supporting staff. You have to follow a process. 

Is there anyone good enough to take up the job?

Fahim: I don't think there is someone right now who can straightaway take up that role. It's easier to be the head coach of a team when you have ample experience working internationally. Sarwar Imran was the team's head coach in the debut Test match and stood in a few times when there was no head coach. Like players, confidence is important for a coach. But we haven't given enough chances to anyone to build that confidence. We've always tried to imply that there is no one qualified enough which is not true. There are quite a few coaches who are good enough and within a short period of time, we can involve them in the national set-up. If we give them the platform where they can gain the necessary experience, I think it's possible for them to handle the national team. But it's tough, given that we are still relying on foreign coaches at the Under-19 level as well.

Salahuddin: Whom will you give that chance to? You can measure someone's capability if he makes a team champion or helps five guys improve their game. It's now difficult for our local coaches because they can't make bold decisions. When you are the head coach of an international team, you have to make harsh calls, handle the media, and manage star players. Sometimes you have to leave out players. As an employee of the BCB, you have to handle the board officials. You can't always tell them what you want unless you have the guts. But if someone comes through the ranks, he'll be able to realise everything. So it's difficult now for the local coaches. 

Why couldn't the country prepare good coaches?

Fahim: We never opened the door. One needs a good playing background, passion and education. There are a lot of people with backgrounds and passions, but what they lack is education. That's because the coaches here are never paid well. There are many people in the coaching community who have to be satisfied with much less than what they deserve. For a good coach, financial security is important. 20-25 or 30 years back, cricketers had brilliant educational backgrounds but I haven't seen this in the last ten years or so. Cricketers with good educational backgrounds don't want to be involved here because of the lack of financial security. 

Salahuddin: Honestly I don't think there is not much of a difference between our local coaches and the foreign ones. We have many great coaches who have been working in this circuit for a long time. For instance, Sohel [Islam] is a specialist spin bowling coach. But as a head coach, you have to handle many things apart from teaching techniques. The state of coaches' education is in a sorry state. We think that a five-day course is enough to upgrade the coaching skills. But it needs a lot of study and involvement in advanced coaching. Because of the lack of these, we could never progress much. You can learn a lot by yourself though, but for that the interest is important. 

Merits of having a local coach 

Fahim: I think our cricketing culture is different from that of others. Even in the recent past, our cricketing system was disorganised. The mindset of the players, management and club officials are different here. Our cricketers grow up in a different way and sometimes the coaches from overseas fail to understand that. I don't think there is a language barrier. But it's important to understand the mindset. When a coach understands the mental aspects, it becomes easier for the players. A local coach can very well understand how the players react and respond to certain instructions. We have seen local coaches handling teams like Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and others but we don't have them here in Bangladesh. 

Salahuddin: A local coach will know the players very well. He will know how to handle players, the culture, the language and everything. But the real deal is if the coach has the respect of each player when he enters the dressing room. The board thinks that the local coaches won't be respected in the same way as the foreign ones. Because we haven't proved that. That's an important issue. I think we haven't been able to earn the respect of the players and that's the main reason. We ourselves have to do that.

Disadvantages of having a local coach 

Fahim: If you are a local coach, you won't get much support from the management. You have to prove time and again that you are good enough. There is no margin of error. You have to face the heat. But I don't think it's too difficult to handle star players. 

Salahuddin: There may be a lot of challenges but I don't see any substantial demerit of having a local head coach.

BCB's liability 

Fahim: We think that if we don't have a high-profile coach, it will be embarrassing. We don't know what makes someone a good coach and what we want from him. Rather than a high-profile coach, we have to find someone who can handle our team well. The requirements for different teams are different. Someone we don't think is good enough can bring us success. We have previously seen that many high-profile coaches came here but haven't found success.

Salahuddin: We could've been in a better position right now. Coaches from India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan now teach in other countries. Ex-players like Sangakkara, Malinga, Jayawardene are coaching in the IPL. Is there any player in Bangladesh who can coach an IPL team after retirement? Players have played a decade of international cricket but are still learning. A player of this much experience should take two balls to figure out what length he should bowl. In club cricket, I have to tell the national team bowlers the ideal length and pace for specific surfaces. Rather, he should've figured out and told me which type of bowlers to be picked. Our culture is like that. We can't teach them enough when they are young. The foundation needs to be strong and only then they can coach IPL teams after 10-12 years of experience.