England's Steve Rhodes is new Bangladesh coach

Steve Rhodes

Bangladesh on Thursday named former England Test cricketer Steve Rhodes as head coach, ending a long hunt for a successor to Sri Lankan Chandika Hathurusingha. Rhodes, 53, told reporters in Dhaka that Bangladesh is "a wonderful cricket nation. The support that the boys get in the Bangladesh team is tremendous." "Personally to be involved in a major role, to be given the responsibility by the President and Board, is a fantastic honour and it's a privilege to be involved in Bangladesh cricket," he added. Bangladesh have been without a coach since Hathurusingha stepped down in October after a successful three-year stint.

West Indies great Courtney Walsh, in charge of the team's fast bowling unit, was given interim overall responsibility during a T20 tri-nations tournament in Sri Lanka in March. Walsh is also in charge of the team in the ongoing Twenty20 international series against Afghanistan in India, which Bangladesh have already lost. The Bangladesh Cricket Board hired South African Test cricketer Gary Kirsten as its consultant to help it find the right person for the job.

"Steve Rhodes was on top of our list. His name was also in Kirsten's list. We spoke to him face to face today and we are satisfied fully," BCB head Nazmul Hassan told reporters. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rhodes, who played 11 Tests and nine one-day internationals for England, has been given a two-year contract lasting until the 2020 ICC World Twenty20. He coached Worcestershire county team in England for 11 years until being sacked last year.

Catch up on all the latest T20 news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever