Donald to leave Tigers after WC
Bangladesh fast-bowling coach Allan Donald confirmed yesterday that he will step down from his role after the World Cup, becoming the first member of the Tigers' coaching staff to call it quits following their disastrous campaign in India.
"Yes, I'm done and going home!" Donald informed The Daily Star.
Donald, who was appointed as the fast-bowling coach on March 4, 2022, will leave his post following Bangladesh's final match in the tournament against Australia in Pune on Saturday.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) initially signed the South Africa legend till last year's ICC T20 World Cup but later extended his contract till the ongoing ODI World Cup.
Wholesale changes in the coaching panel were expected after the team's shocking performance in the showpiece event. But even after the team's shoddy showing, BCB were reportedly interested to extend Donald's contract for his work in further developing the current crop of pacers in the national team.
However, those talks fizzled out once Donald gave his two cents on the Angelo Mathews timed-out dismissal in an interview, where he said he did not agree with skipper Shakib Al Hasan's choice to dismiss the Sri Lankan batter in that manner on Monday.
In a team meeting held in Pune yesterday, the team management asked him to explain his actions as they did not appreciate Donald publicly going against the team's on-field decision. In that meeting, Donald said that he would not be extending his contract as the bowling coach.
A team official present at the meeting leaked that information to cricket website Cricbuzz and after learning about it from The Daily Star, Donald expressed his shock and confirmed his decision to leave Bangladesh cricket.
"WOW! I know who was in that meeting and I know who was there. The fact that this was described the way it was is amazing," Donald wrote in a WhatsApp exchange.
Even though his journey with the Bangladesh team ended on a sour note, Donald remains incredibly content with his tenure.
"I've had a great run. I sort of regard this fast-bowling group as my friends; they're my mates. I really cannot describe how much high regard I have for this fast-bowling group. From day one back in Centurion Park where the Bangladeshi bus picked me up and dropped me off at Pune, was a nice run. It was really amazing," Donald said.
The 57-year-old said that he will keep in touch with his pace-bowling brigade and follow Bangladesh cricket from afar.
"Ebadot [Hossain], Khaled [Ahmed] and the five other guys [in the World Cup squad] that make up seven… I want to say that they are my friends. They are my closest friends."
"I will follow Bangladesh cricket. I will follow my fast-bowling group. I told them today that I will not take myself off that Whatsapp group. I will keep in touch with these kids because I absolutely love them."