Bangladesh rope in Sunil Joshi as spin consultant
Sunil Joshi, the former India left-arm spinner, will join the Bangladesh national team as the spin bowling consultant ahead of the team’s two-Test series against Australia starting on August 27.
Joshi, 47, will lend his expertise to the talented array of Bangladesh spinners, who will be seeking to make an impact against an Australian side that acquitted itself with credit on its four-Test tour of India in February-March.
“It is an exciting opportunity for me, and I am looking forward to working with the Bangladesh spinners who I believe have what it takes to continue to make waves on the world stage,” Joshi told Wisden India. “I have obviously seen plenty of Shakib Al Hasan and Nasir Hossain, and I have followed the progress of Mehedi Hasan (the offspinner) and Taijul Islam (the left-arm spinner) with great interest.”
Joshi’s name had been linked with the Bangladesh job for the first time in February, during its one-off Test against India in Hyderabad, with indications then that he would help out the side during the two-Test series in Sri Lanka. Bangladesh fought back from the loss of the first Test in Galle to carve out a four-wicket win in Colombo and square the series.
Last week, the Bangladesh Cricket Board had announced that Stuart MacGill, the original choice for the post, had declined the job due to personal reasons, and the BCB immediately turned to Joshi to fill the breach.
“We have at least four or five practice sessions ahead of the first Test,” Joshi added. “That time will help me get familiar with the spinners, and for them to also get used to me. I think the key will be communication and to keep things open and honest. I see plenty of potential in the spinners that have been doing such a stellar job for Bangladesh, and I will do everything possible in my capacity to help them develop further and do justice to their abilities.”
This is Joshi’s second stint with an international side, having previously been the spin bowling coach for Oman during the Asia Cup T20 tournament in Bangladesh and the ICC World Twenty20 in India, between February and March in 2016. Either side of that Oman stint, he has coached Hyderabad in first-class cricket for three seasons, spent one year with Jammu and Kashmir, and was in charge of the Assam team during the 2016-17 season.
“The fact that Bangladesh have had a good run of results in Test cricket in the last year or so is something the team will take great confidence from as they gear up for the Australian challenge,” Joshi went on. “Last year, they defeated England at home, their first Test win against the English, and gave a good account of themselves in Hyderabad, even though they lost the Test. And victory in their last Test match, away in Sri Lanka, will further boost their morale. An efficient, organised and celebrated side like Australia will only bring the best out of the team. Understandably, the onus will be on the spinning department to lead the charge, and I am thrilled that I will be able to offer something to the spinners with my experience both as a former left-arm spinner and as a coach for the last several years.”
Joshi, who took 110 international wickets during a five-year career for India in Tests and One-Day Internationals, retired from competitive cricket in June 2012 with 615 first-class wickets, 192 List A scalps and 13 Twenty20 wickets in a career that spanned 19 years. He also amassed 5129 first-class runs at 26.71, with 118 as the highest of his four centuries.
The former Karnataka captain will join a backroom staff that already includes Chandika Hathurusinghe, the former Sri Lankan allrounder who is the head coach, and Courtney Walsh, the former West Indian skipper who is currently the fast bowling coach.
Interestingly, in the rival camp will be S Sriram, the ex-Tamil Nadu allrounder who has been travelling with the Australian team to the subcontinent as the spin consultant for a while now.