Bangladesh rope in Mushtaq Ahmed as spin consultant for South Africa series

Dhaka, Oct 19 (IANS) Bangladesh have appointed former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed as spin bowling consultant for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa. Mushtaq previously helped the Bangladesh team during the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and the Pakistan tour before missing out on the India tour due to prior commitments.

Mushtaq oversaw the team's net session at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday, gave inputs to players and had a detailed conversation with newly-appointed head coach Phil Simmons, who recently replaced Chandika Hathurusingha.

"He (Mushtaq) is here for this (South Africa) series. This year, whenever he is available and does not have any prior commitments, he will work series by series with us. Right now, he is here, we'll see what happens in the next series," Cricbuzz quoted a BCB official as saying.

Another BCB official emphasised that they are aiming to sign a long-term contract with Mushtaq by the end of the year, provided everything goes according to plan. It remains uncertain if Mushtaq will be available for the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan and the West Indies tour before finalising the deal, depending his availability.

Earlier, Bangladesh named uncapped left-arm spinner Hasan Murad as a replacement for veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan in the first Test squad against South Africa starting on October 21.

The 23-year-old Murad has taken 136 wickets in 30 first-class matches since his debut in 2021.

Bangladesh squad for first Test: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque Showrab, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Kumer Das (wk), Zaker Ali Anik, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, Hasan Murad.