Will Mushtaq make his presence felt?
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) appointed former Pakistani leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed as the national team's spin bowling coach on Tuesday. The decision seemed like a curious one given the dearth of leg-spinners in the national team and the country itself.
BCB had brought high-profile coaches in the past too. Daniel Vettori and Rangana Herath -- the past two spin coaches were both left-arm spinners, and given that left-arm spinners are not only highly-valued in the domestic circuit but are also high in numbers, their appointments were a regular scenario.
However, BCB, while looking at Mushtaq's vast history of coaching, felt that it was more than just leg-spin but his experience too which could make a difference. With coaches such as Sohel Islam already present as a mentor for majority of the finger spinners in the country, the BCB went against the grain in its recruitment of the spin coach.
"We have brought him with the Zimbabwe series and the T20 World Cup in mind. We have discussed long-term plans and about how the move benefits us. But nothing is certain. When a coach of Mushtaq Ahmed's level comes to Bangladesh, seeing that we have a dearth of leg-spinners, it will be a big support for the promising ones, those apart from Rishad [Hossain], who is in the national side. It will be a big thing that Mushtaq shares his vast knowledge with them. At the same time, when Mushtaq is with us, we can arrange spin hunt in every nook and corner of the country, it will be very good for us and good for the future of leg-spinners," BCB's cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus told reporters on Wednesday.
"It's very rare to get leg-spinners now. But after he comes, some will be inspired. Mushtaq gives a lot of tips and given his experience of playing in World Cups along with his coaching and playing career, he will create a different atmosphere. It will be a big help and we might get that support from him," Yunus added.
Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, cricket analyst and a mentor to many national team stars, felt that perhaps too much focus is being laid on Mushtaq's past as a leg-spinner.
"He will look after all the spinners; it's not like there will be separate coaches for left-arm spinners, right-arm spinners or a leg-spinner. We have not reached that place yet. When there is a pool of spinners, he will have opportunity to work. It would be very good if he can watch the players in the league [DPL] going on.
"I feel he is relatively more experienced compared to past appointments and he will have less of a language barrier and also have a better understanding of culture," Fahim felt.
"There has been too much emphasis placed on him being a leg-spinner. When it comes to spin, he will have expertise on all kinds of spin. He will also be a role model and an impact would be there if there is leg-spin camps or spin hunts," he added.
However, high-profile coaches are not a guarantee for improvements in results. Fahim opined that spinners have not improved much in recent years.
"Our spinners have not improved greatly, if you look at stats from last two to three years. So I don't know if there was any visible difference," Fahim said.
How much the spinners progress under the guidance of Mushtaq will be of great importance to the team's cause going forward.