Salahuddin Steps In as Bangladesh Batting Coach—Here's What Changed

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-25

The Bangladesh Cricket Board just made a move that caught a lot of fans off guard. Mohammad Salahuddin, who runs the High Performance Unit, is now the interim batting coach for the men's national team. He's stepping in for Mohammad Ashraful, and the timing matters—this all happened right before a two-Test series against West Indies. So what's really going on here? Let's break it down. ### Why the Change Happened The BCB dropped the news in a media release, and honestly, it was pretty light on details. They said Ashraful will move into a new position within the board, but they didn't say what that position is. Salahuddin holds the batting coach role until a permanent replacement is named. Here's the thing—Ashraful only joined as batting coach in November 2025. That's not a long run. And Salahuddin isn't some outsider walking in cold. He'd already served as assistant coach and handled the batting unit before Ashraful took over. So in a way, he's returning to familiar ground. Reports say BCB cricket operations told Ashraful about the change, and he left the national players' WhatsApp group on Saturday with a thank-you message. He confirmed he's no longer with the national team and is waiting for his next assignment. He'd actually been at a training session with the squad at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium earlier that same day. The board is reportedly talking to some foreign batting coaches for the permanent job. No timeline yet on when that gets sorted. ### The Numbers Under Ashraful Let's give credit where it's due. Bangladesh won five of eight Tests under Ashraful, drew one, and lost two. They swept Ireland 2-0 and beat Pakistan by the same margin in May. Mushfiqur Rahim was unstoppable in that Pakistan series—253 runs, including a national-record 14th Test hundred. He walked away as player of the series. In white-ball cricket, the results were mixed but had real highlights: - Beat Pakistan 2-1 in an ODI series in March - Won an ODI series against Australia 2-1 in June—their first ever series win over them - Australia took the T20I series 3-0 that same month - Drew the Test series 1-1 in August, winning in Darwin before losing in Mackay within two days after being bowled out for 64 Bangladesh scored 11 centuries across 34 internationals between November 2025 and October 2026. That's not nothing. But the batting group struggled in recent tournaments—poor showings at the Asian Games in Japan and the tri-nation series in Abu Dhabi. They also lost the UAE ODI tri-series final to Afghanistan. ### Ashraful's Story Is Complicated 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 to score a Test hundred, and at 20 he captained Bangladesh to a win over Australia in 2005. But there's a darker chapter. The BCB banned him from all board-related cricket activity in 2013 for match-fixing in the Bangladesh Premier League. He returned three years later and moved into coaching. He stayed active in domestic cricket until about two years ago. ### What's Next for Bangladesh Salahuddin's first real test comes with the opening Test against West Indies, starting October 28 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. He'll be working with the batters right away—no easing-in period. There's another wrinkle: fast bowler Nahid Rana will miss the series with a labrum tear. That's one more selection headache for the home side on top of everything else. The BCB hasn't set a date for naming a permanent batting coach. For now, Salahuddin holds the reins, and Bangladesh fans will be watching closely to see if the batting unit responds.