The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has named former captain Mohammad Ashraful as the new national batting coach ahead of the multi-format series against Ireland. Notably, the Bangla Tigers are set to host Ireland for two Tests, starting from November 11 which will be followed by a three-T20I leg from November 27.
Ashraful will replace assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin in the role, who had been managing the batting coach duties too after BCB ended their partnership with David Hemp. The Tigers’ batting department was handled by Nic Pothas, followed by David Hemp on a short-term basis before Salahuddin had to take over.
On the other hand, this appointment marks Ashraful’s first return to the national team setup since 2014, when he received a ban for his involvement in match-fixing during the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Speaking after the development, current board director Abdur Razzak was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz,
“Ashraful has the experience – that’s a given. He has already completed the coaching courses, and mainly his experience was the key for us in this role.”
Razzak also confirmed that Salahuddin will continue in his role of an assistant coach and that no one has been sacked from their post. Meanwhile, the former left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak will act as team director of the national team for the Ireland series.
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Ashraful worked as batting coach in different capacities in the domestic circuit as well as in the Global Super League, where he guided the Rangpur Riders batting unit on two occasions. He also served as the head coach of Barishal Division in the most recent NCL T20 tournament. However, this will be Ashraful’s first coaching stint with the national team.
Coming to Bangladesh’s batting, it has faced heavy scrutiny of late. To put it into context, they suffered a massive 200-run loss against Afghanistan during a bilateral ODI series in October. Prior to that, in the Asia Cup 2025 group stage match against Pakistan, they bottled an easy chase of 136.
Rash strokes, poor shot selection, and an utter inability to rotate strike made their collapse look inevitable rather than accidental.
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