Former English wicketkeeper-batsman Steve Rhodes is among the frontrunners for the vacant Bangladesh head coach's post. BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury during an interaction with the media Tuesday informed that Steve is set to meet the board officials in the next few days and present his strategies for the Bangladesh job.
The 2019 World Cup in England and Wales is the chief reason behind Steve being among the frontrunners for the job. It is understood that BCB advisor Gary Kirsten has referred Steve's name, given his extensive knowledge and experience of the game, and conditions in England. The 53-year-old has been guiding English county club Worcestershire for almost 11 years now.
“Steve is one of the names in our shortlist. We are expecting him to meet the board in the next two or three days. You have already seen Richard Pybus and Phil Simmons come and meet the concerned authority in the board, which was also part of our recruitment process. So Steve will also come and meet the ones who are involved with the recruitment process and give a presentation,” informed Nizamuddin at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.
The BCB's shortlist for the next probable Bangladesh head coach also includes names of candidates from Australia and South Africa. But the BCB has put special interest on Steve due to his extensive experience in England which the Tigers can benefit from during the 2019 World Cup.
“Steve is one of the most experienced coaches which we have in the list, and we are giving importance to that. The next World Cup is in England (and Wales), which makes him a good candidate to coach Bangladesh. We believe the team will be benefitted if we have someone who is experienced with the conditions in England,” Nizamuddin explained.
“We have given importance to experience. Initially we had discussions with many candidates, including big names with experience. But owing to different reasons we could not confirm any of them. We discussed with the players and Kirsten before giving the offer to Steve,” the BCB high-up added.
Born in Yorkshire, Steve represented England from 1989 till 1995 and played 11 Test matches and nine ODIs. In the domestic circuit, the former cricketer played 440 first-class matches and 477 List A games.
Steve worked with Worcestershire from 2006 to 2017 as coach and team director. Bangladesh Test and T20I captain Shakib al Hasan during his stint with the county in 2010 played under Steve.
The post for the Bangladesh head coach went vacant in November last year after Chandika Hathurusingha resigned.
