BCB director endorses Simmons to continue as Bangladesh head coach

Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, the BCB director, has given his endorsement for Phil Simmons to continue in his role as Bangladesh head coach, beyond the Champions Trophy. Fahim said the board will sit for official talks with Simmons soon, and hope to get him into the role on a long-term basis.

Simmons’ extension was one of several topics discussed during a board meeting in Dhaka on Monday.

Simmons was appointed in October last year on an interim role. However, Bangladesh won only one series during his four-month stint – a 3-0 win against West Indies in T20Is. The team made an early exit from the Champions Trophy too, after losing to India and New Zealand. Simmons, though, has won the approval of both the BCB president Faruque Ahmed and director Fahim, the two most influential figures in the current board.

“The contracts of our head coach and senior assistant coach was till mid-March,” Fahim said. “We are satisfied with them, so we will get in touch with them for renegotiation. If we can’t get into an understanding with them, we have to think about other options. We are hopeful of reaching a mutual understanding with them. We are thinking of extending their contracts till the 2027 World Cup.

“We will speak to him formally very soon. I have seen him from up close. I am convinced he will do well with the Bangladesh team. I have also seen the interpersonal relationship between him and the local coaches and the players. I think he will do well here.”

The BCB is also set to renew the contract of senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin, who was also appointed on a short-term basis last November. One of the reasons that the board have felt encouraged to renew both Simmons and Salahuddin is their willingness to work with each other. ESPNcricinfo understands that one of Simmons’ mandates was to give leeway to local coaches.

In addition, the board has decided to renew the contract of spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, while also accepting Hannan Sarkar’s resignation as a selector. Fahim said that the BCB is also keen on improving the fielding in the senior team, alongside the high performance unit. As a result, they are talking to multiple fielding coaches to join the BCB.