Bangladesh sacks domestic coaches for not playing leg-spinners

Bangladesh national cricket team has upped its requirement for a quality leg-spinner, with two domestic first-class coaches sacked for not fielding one in the National Cricket League.

With the squad struggling to put up a strong opposition in international cricket, the team is looking for a decent leggie.

The lack of domestic match practice for batsmen against leg-spin was also laid bare as Afghan wizard Rashid Khan tore apart Bangladesh in the recent series.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed Friday that two coaches had been withdrawn for not following instructions.

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Dhaka failed to field leg-spinner Jubair Hossain while Khulna ignored Rishad Hossain in their recent first-round domestic matches.

“We had given clear instructions to play leg-spinners in the NCL, but neither… was picked in the starting eleven,” board president Nazmul Hassan told reporters on Thursday.

“We have to give them game time. How can they improve otherwise?” Chittagong and Dhaka Metropolis both followed the board’s edict and debuted leg-spinners Minhajul Abedin and Aminul Islam in the eight-team NCL.

Hassan said the board will also make it mandatory for teams to play leg-spinners in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

“They (teams) must have a leg-spinner in the squad and if he is a local he must be picked in the best XI,” said Hassan.

(With inputs from agencies)