Bangladesh's Batting Coach Shuffle: What Salahuddin's Return Really Means

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-25

The Bangladesh Cricket Board just made a move that caught a lot of people off guard. High Performance Unit head coach Mohammad Salahuddin is stepping in as the interim batting coach of the men's national team. He takes over from Mohammad Ashraful, who's been reassigned right before a two-Test series against West Indies. It's the kind of quiet shake-up that raises eyebrows. Why now? And what does it say about where Bangladesh's batting is headed? ### Why Ashraful Was Moved Out of the Role The BCB broke the news in a media release and said Ashraful will take on a new position within the board. What that position actually is? Nobody's saying yet. Salahuddin holds the batting coach role until a permanent successor is named. Ashraful only joined as batting coach in November 2025. Before him, Salahuddin had already served as assistant coach and handled the batting unit, so this is familiar ground for him. He knows these players, knows their habits, knows what makes them tick. Word is that BCB cricket operations told Ashraful about the change directly. He reportedly left the national players' WhatsApp group on Saturday with a thank-you message. He confirmed he's no longer with the national team and said he's simply waiting for his next assignment. Earlier that same day, he'd been at a training session with the squad at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium. The board is reportedly talking to a few foreign batting coaches for the permanent job. So this interim tag on Salahuddin might not last long. ### Bangladesh's Record Under Ashraful Let's be fair here. The numbers under Ashraful weren't bad at all. - Won five of eight Tests, drew one, lost two - Swept Ireland 2-0 in Tests - Beat Pakistan 2-0 in May, with Mushfiqur Rahim scoring 253 runs and a national-record 14th Test hundred - Beat Pakistan 2-1 in an ODI series in March - Won an ODI series against Australia 2-1 in June, their first ever over that opponent - Drew the Test series against Australia 1-1 in August Bangladesh racked up 11 centuries across 34 internationals between November 2025 and October 2026. That's real output. But the batting group wobbled in recent tournaments. Poor showings at the Asian Games in Japan and the tri-nation series in Abu Dhabi stung. They also lost the UAE ODI tri-series final to Afghanistan. > "The talent was never the question. It's the consistency that keeps slipping through their fingers." ### A Quick Look at Ashraful's Playing Career Ashraful played 61 Tests, 177 ODIs, and 23 T20Is for Bangladesh. His 3,468 ODI runs rank fifth-highest for his country. He became the youngest player ever to score a Test hundred. And at just 20, he captained Bangladesh to a win over Australia back in 2005. His story has dark chapters too. The BCB banned him from all board-related cricket in 2013 over match-fixing in the Bangladesh Premier League. He returned three years later and eventually moved into coaching. He stayed active in domestic cricket until about two years ago. ### What's Next for Bangladesh Salahuddin's first task is the opening Test against West Indies, starting October 28 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. He'll be working closely with the batters right away, no adjustment period, no warm-up. There's another wrinkle. Fast bowler Nahid Rana will miss the series with a labrum tear, which gives the home side one more selection headache to sort out. The BCB hasn't set a date for naming a permanent batting coach. So for now, Salahuddin holds the reins, and everyone's watching to see whether his familiar touch can steady a batting lineup that's shown flashes of brilliance and frustrating inconsistency in equal measure.