The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is exploring the possibility of adding South African legends AB de Villiers and Allan Donald to the national team’s coaching setup, according to a source close to the development.
De Villiers is being considered as a batting consultant, while Donald could return in a bowling consultancy role.
The move is primarily aimed at helping Bangladesh prepare for South African conditions, with the Tigers set to visit the country twice in the next 12 months. They are scheduled to play a full series of Tests, ODIs and T20Is from mid-November before returning for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
As part of that preparation, the BCB has been in discussions with several former cricketers and coaches. De Villiers is among those being considered for his knowledge of the conditions and wickets, while Donald is a familiar figure to the Bangladesh setup after spending nearly two years as the team’s pace bowling coach.
The BCB has approached de Villiers through newly appointed assistant coach Malibongwe Maketa, who signed a two-year contract with the team. De Villiers is currently in the UAE, where he is playing for South African Champions in the World Championship of Legends (WCL).
Maketa, meanwhile, has joined Bangladesh for the first time in Abu Dhabi, where the team are preparing for their one-off Test against Afghanistan from October 9. The Test will be followed by a tri-nation ODI series involving Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.
A BCB director, who is not directly involved in the process, remained cautious about the possibility of bringing in either former South Africa international. He said the board is speaking to several candidates but stressed that nothing has been finalised yet.
“This is not really my department, so I cannot say anything before something is finalised. But I can say that discussions are ongoing with several people,” the director told TIMES on condition of anonymity.
He also pointed to the terms and conditions involved in such appointments, saying the board was neither confirming nor denying the possibility of bringing in de Villiers and Donald at this stage.
He said, “I am neither confirming nor denying the cases of these two, because there are many terms and conditions involved in such matters. A lot of things have to be agreed with them. So, subject to all that, let’s see how it goes.”
Donald is a particularly familiar option for Bangladesh. He served as the national team’s pace bowling coach from March 2022 until the 2023 ODI World Cup, during which the pace attack made significant progress.
Hasan Mahmud, Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Shoriful Islam, among others, remain in contact with Donald through a WhatsApp group. The BCB did not extend his contract after the World Cup, but his previous experience with the group makes him a natural candidate for a return in a consultancy role.
The current coaching setup has Mohammad Ashraful as batting coach, with his contract running until the 2027 ODI World Cup, while Talha Jubair is the pace bowling coach.
