Bangladesh appoints Russell Domingo as head coach

Dhaka: Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday appointed South African Russell Domingo as national team head coach for a two-year term.

Domingo had played junior cricket for Eastern Province before moving into coaching at an early age. He became South Africa U19 coach for the 2004 ICC U19 World Cup in Bangladesh.

Domingo said he was eagerly looking ahead to his new challenge: "It is a massive honour to be appointed the Head Coach of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team. I have followed Bangladesh's progress with keen interest and I am extremely excited to assist the team in reaching the goals that they are capable of.

In 2010, Domingo was named as the coach of South Africa 'A' for the tour of Bangladesh. Domingo was appointed Assistant Coach of the South Africa team in 2011 and took over from Gary Kirsten as coach of the T20 squad in December 2012 before replacing Kirsten as national team head coach in 2013, a post he held up to 2017.

"I look forward to continuing the ongoing development of current players whilst also looking towards the future and developing some new bright stars from within the talent pool of Bangladesh cricket," he added.

Announcing the appointment BCB President Nazmul Hassan, MP said Domingo's vision for Bangladesh made him the ideal candidate for the role: "He has a wealth of experience and we have been very impressed with his passion and coaching philosophy. He has a clear idea of what is required to take the team forward."

He has led South Africa to semifinals of the 2014 ICC World T20 in Bangladesh and the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Domingo has also coached the Warriors franchise in South Africa's domestic one-day and T20 competitions and at the Champions League T20.

The 44-year-old is expected to arrive in Dhaka on August 21 to take charge of the team.