Mohammad Ashraful Appointed Bangladesh Batting Coach for Ireland Series

Former Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful has been appointed as the national team’s batting coach for the upcoming Test and T20I series against Ireland in November and December, marking his first major coaching role with the senior side.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed the appointment on Tuesday, describing it as part of a restructuring process ahead of a busy international calendar.

Ashraful, 41, replaces Mohammad Salahuddin, who resigned as assistant coach and will leave after the Ireland series. Salahuddin had been overseeing the batting unit since joining Phil Simmons’ coaching staff last year. Ashraful remains one of Bangladesh’s most recognizable cricket figures, both for his precocious rise and turbulent career.

He was just 20 when he led Bangladesh to a historic win over Australia in Cardiff in 2005, an innings that cemented his place in the nation’s cricket folklore. Across 177 ODIs, he scored 3468 runs—then among the top five for Bangladesh—and added 61 Tests and 23 T20Is to his record before stepping away from competitive cricket two years ago.

His journey, however, was marred by a match-fixing scandal that led to a lengthy ban from BCB-sanctioned cricket in 2013. After being reinstated in 2016, Ashraful gradually returned to domestic cricket and recently completed coaching qualifications, taking charge of youth and academy setups.

Bangladesh’s batting frailties have been a recurring concern this year, with series defeats in both white- and red-ball formats, including recent T20I losses to the UAE, Pakistan and West Indies. Ashraful, who recently criticized the inconsistency of Bangladesh’s top order, will now have a chance to directly address those issues from within the dressing room. The home series against Ireland is expected to begin later this month, with squads to be finalized in the coming days.