Mohammad Ashraful has placed disciplined off-side and leg-side shot-making at the heart of Bangladesh’s new batting approach, as he prepares to continue as the national team’s batting coach through to the 2027 ODI World Cup. His emphasis on controlled, ground-based strokeplay has become the central feature of the batting camp currently underway in Mirpur, reflecting a broader long-term plan agreed with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
Ashraful is set for an extended tenure after impressing the board during his initial assignment for the home series against Ireland. Although BCB cricket operations chairman Nazmul Abedin Fahim declined to confirm the duration of the contract, a senior team source said Ashraful and the board reached an understanding in Chattogram, where expectations were discussed and a deal until the 2027 World Cup was effectively settled.
The former national captain, still early in his coaching career, previously worked as Mickey Arthur’s assistant at Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), served the same franchise in the Global T20, and headed Barishal in this year’s National Cricket League. Senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin will also continue in the set-up, while head coach Phil Simmons, Salahuddin and Ashraful are overseeing a week-long batting camp from 6 December.
Speaking during the sessions, Ashraful clarified that the training is not restricted to off-side drills, but is designed to build disciplined, low-risk scoring options on both sides of the wicket.
“Not only on the off side. Individual work is being done with each player,” he said. “With Parvez Hossain Emon and Tanzim Tamim, we want cricketing shots early on. When bowlers go outside off stump, the gaps at point, cover and mid-off are available. If you play low-risk shots into those gaps, you can score runs. That’s what we have been working on.”
He noted that the leg side is receiving equal attention:
“Leg-side practice is also being done, like the flick. Many batsmen worked on the flick todaysquare leg, mid-wicket and through mid-on with the ball kept down. The aim is to play more shots along the ground. We can already hit over the top; now the goal is to play more cricketing shots along the ground.”
Ashraful added that all individual training plans originate from head coach Phil Simmons, who has provided player-specific shot-blueprints for the camp.
On his recent work with Jaker Ali, particularly on off-side technique, Ashraful said Jaker’s situation reflects misfortune rather than technical fragility:
“Jaker practised brilliantly but played only one match. If you exclude two deliveries the one outside off he tried to hit and the one he got out to the rest he played well. Had he played two more matches, I’m sure he would have scored big runs. He is mentally strong and a performer.”
Jaker’s move to a familiar environment in the BPL under Khaled Mahmud Sujon, someone who “knows everything about him”, should help him regain form, Ashraful added.
Asked whether he misses his previous analytical role, Ashraful said:
“I still watch a lot of cricket. Whenever I get free time, I watch highlightsAshes, India, South Africa. So I do not miss it; I enjoy everything.”
