Ottis Gibson is still waiting to hear from Bangladesh Cricket Board about the possibility of being appointed as the pace bowling coach of the men’s national team. The former South Africa head coach had stated that he was in discussions with the BCB over the role left vacant after the board decided to release Charl Langeveldt to join the South African national set-up as per Cricket South Africa’s request.
Gibson has just completed a stint as the head coach of Cumilla Warriors in the ongoing Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League where his team failed to progress past the group stage. BCB directors are scheduled to convene at a board meeting on January 12 where a decision on Langeveldt’s replacement is likely to be taken up. Former South Africa fast bowler and current bowling coach of Sylhet Thunder Nantie Hayward is another applicant for the post.
Bangladesh is eager to make a swift appointment to their back-room staff ahead of a hectic season of cricket which sees them playing 10 Test matches apart from the T20 World Cup. Fast bowling has been a particular pain point of the national team with the team going even as far as playing four spinners in a Test against Afghanistan last year. Bangladesh’s stocks in the fast-bowling department were laid bare once more in the T20I series against India, where despite the lead they floundered in the next couple of games to concede a series that could have been won.
Gibson said that in T20 cricket bowlers will have to accept that they will be hit but will have to back themselves to bowl their best ball irrespective of what transpired the previous delivery. “Bowlers are always under pressure. Yeah mentally, you have to accept that you are gonna get hit for fours and six but then how you make a comeback is the main thing,” Gibson told a news agency of his mantra to T20 bowling.
