Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), on Sunday, has extended the contract of the national team spin consultant Sunil Joshi till the World Cup 2019 in England and Wales.
“It’s a great opportunity, and am thankful to the Bangladesh Cricket Board for having kept the trust in me,” Joshi, the former Indian left arm spinner gratified.
The day before, Bangladesh registered their first Test win against Windies at home and Joshi, reviving the triumph, expressed how well the team feeling is going on now.
“There is a very positive vibe within the team,” Joshi said.
“Having won the ODI and T20I series against Windies earlier this year, as well as getting to the final of the Asia Cup and losing very narrowly to India. There are a lot of positives. The players have started believing in themselves since their wonderful run to the semifinal at the 2015 World Cup,” Joshi added who played 69 one day international matches for India from 1996 to 2001.
Since spinners of the home team have been routing against the opposition in a traditionally built up turning tracks here, Joshi let out the inside regime of the team after being drastically defeated in the Caribbeans earlier the continuing year.
“After the series loss in the Caribbean, we sat down and did a lot of work. Plenty of backroom planning and analysis was undertaken to see what we require our spinners to do at the highest level, especially when they are playing red-ball cricket,” Joshi said.
Noting Shakib Al Hasan’s presence as the catalyst behind Bangladesh’s success in the first Test, the spin consultant heaped praise on him (Shakib) about his leadership skills.
“There is equal onus on the coach and the player – you are being constantly reminded of the need for a consistent line, of a repeatable action, of the number of balls you need to bowl in practice. And the best part of it all is Shakib’s presence. The captain really makes a difference to the team and leads from the front. Though he is coming back from injury, it never looks like he was away,” Joshi reckoned.
