Walsh welcomes Bangladesh role
FAST BOWLING legend Courtney Walsh says he is happy to continue as Bangladesh head coach in the interim, until a fulltime replacement is found.
The Jamaican recently oversaw the Tigers campaign in the Nidahas Trophy, where they twice beat Sri Lanka in the preliminaries to reach the final before losing to India in the final.
“I know they are looking for a head coach but if I am asked, I will be happy to continue,” Walsh said.
“The sooner we can get the coach, the better. We can get the momentum continuing. My concern will be about getting the person now and get our planning going.
“My main concern is the success of the Bangladesh cricket team.”
Sri Lankan Chandika Hathurusingha quit the head coach post last October midway during the tour of South Africa, in frustration over the team’s performance.
The 55-year-old Walsh, who joined the Bangladesh setup in September 2016 on a three-year deal, was then installed as interim head coach in February.
After leading the preparation for Nidahas Trophy, Walsh said he was pleased with how the team performed, even though they let themselves down in the final.
“It [Nidahas Trophy] was very good. You couldn’t have asked for more. We were disappointed with the final, but it was a great achievement,” said the former bowling star.
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“Those things don’t happen every day. We gave it our all. You could see how much it meant to our guys. I was happy with the commitment.”
Walsh, who ended his stellar 132-Test career with a West Indies record 519 wickets, said there was still work to be done in the pace-bowling department.
“We’ve not been consistent. I saw the improvement in the camp before the ODI series. Improvement is possible with more practice, fitness and thought,” Walsh said.