Herath, Prince set to join Bangladesh coaching staff

Former Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath and South Africa batsman Ashwell Prince have been appointed as Bangladesh National Team's consultants for spin bowling and batting respectively. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed the matter through a media release.

Herath will replace Daniel Vettori, who was named spin coach of the team in July 2019.

Herath will join the Bangladesh coaching team in Zimbabwe and will be in the role until the end of Bangladesh's campaign in this year's ICC Twenty20 World Cup. 

Ashwell Prince, the former Protea batter, has reached an agreement with the BCB to work with the Bangladeshi batsmen for the tour of Zimbabwe.

BCB director Akram Khan said they would consider Herath for the long term if he does well in the upcoming Zimbabwe tour. 

"If the players like him and he does well, only then we'll consider him (for the long term). But that will be decided after T20 World Cup," said Akram.

According to Akram, Prince was highly recommended by coach Russel Domingo and his profile spoke for himself. 

There were talks about appointing Jamie Siddons as a batting consultant, but Akram said it was difficult to bring him due to the Covid situation. 

"It has been really difficult to appoint international coaches due to the ongoing Covid situation. A lot of them aren't available for the long terms. That's why we appointed Herath and Prince for a couple of series. If they do well, we'll consider continuing with them," Akram added.

Herath, 43, the most successful left-arm spinner in the history of Test cricket with 433 wickets. He is an ICC/SLC Level 3 coach specializing in spin bowling.

Prince is also a Level 3 coach who has worked as the batting consultant for South Africa A and had also been the A side's interim head coach.