The case for Ian Pont as Bangladesh coach

Bangladeshi cricket fans expected a lot from Richard Pybus, but sadly the expectations turned out to be a frustrating story. Last week, Pybus declined to continue as the coach of the Bangladesh cricket team. This is certainly a big blow for the Tigers with the series against West Indies due to start November 13.

But it's time to move forward, time to recruit the perfect man for the job. Bangladesh still has to go with a foreign coach due to the lack of standards among our local coaches and that foreign coach should not only have the experience and professionalism but will also become a great friend of the Tigers and Bangladesh as a country.

Coaching a team from the subcontinent is not an easy job for foreign coaches. In the subcontinent there are cultural differences, various people with a diverse culture come and takes shelter under one flag to fight for the pride of their country. In Bangladesh this isn't any different, so whoever will be appointed as the Tigers' coach must have a good knowledge about our culture and must embrace it and accept us with a big smile.

If he is not willing to accept our culture then there will be lack of heart in his efforts. He will not understand what cricket is actually meant for the 16 billion people who live with the hope of the Tigers' sunny days in each match they represent and die with each failure of our boys. And for which we need someone who can mingle with our culture like a true friend rather than land in our country and start complaining about anything and everything.

In my mind, at present, Ian Pont is the right person to coach Bangladesh. In his previous stint as our bowling coach and then as the head coach of Dhaka Gladiators, who won the inaugural Bangladesh Premier League, Pont earned enough respect and above all, he has become one of our best friends. He's loved by all and he is at home with our culture and our cricket. He knows the whys and hows of our cricket and possesses an in-depth knowledge of our first class-cricket structure too. Moreover, Pont has the experience and professionalism to claim the coaching job of our cricket team without a second thought.

His coaching credentials have spanned the world - Bangladesh bowling coach, Dhaka Gladiators' coach, Netherlands' bowling coach and assistant head coach, coach and consultant for the Haryana Ranji Trophy team, Essex and Northamptonshire bowling coach, head coach of the International Pro Camp in South Africa and ECB National Skills Set coach apart from coaching at three ICC World Cup campaigns.

As a cricketer, Pont was good enough if not amongst the best. He bears a very respectable first-class cricket career. During his playing days he represented teams like Nottinghamshire, Essex, Natal and minor counties such as Northumberland and Lincolnshire with success. Today he is regarded as a bowling coach but his knowledge of batting is as excellent as his bowling nous since he was a batting allrounder during his playing days. Pont is also the author of two books – “The Fast Bowler's Bible”and “Coaching Youth Cricket” (recommended reading by the ECB - and qualified as a UKCC ECB Level 3 Head Coach.)

In one word, Pont is a complete package as a cricket coach. And for Bangladesh, Pont is the best man for the job because he is one of our best friends and it's only a great friend can help to build a cohesive unit alongside his professionalism.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Note: This article has been published on cricket next.com today  The case for Ian Pont as Bangladesh coach