Comilla Victorians have appointed Steve Rhodes, the former Bangladesh men's national team head coach, as their technical advisor for the 2022 Bangladesh Premier League. This will be Rhodes' first assignment, in Bangladesh or elsewhere, after he was removed from the job in July 2019.
"He is a very experienced coach. He was one of our most successful coaches in Bangladesh," Victorians' head coach Mohammad Salahuddin said. "We can definitely get a lot of inputs from him. I can certainly learn from him. He is a gentleman. He has been made clear of his role with the team. He has already given some good suggestions."
Rhodes started with Bangladesh in June 2018 and, after a rocky start, Bangladesh won home Test and ODI series against West Indies, as well as the tri-nation series in Ireland also involving West Indies.
At the 2019 ODI World Cup, Bangladesh beat South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan, but lost five matches in the first-round league to finish in eighth place among ten teams. Rhodes was removed from the job after the tournament.
At the BPL this season, the eighth, Khulna Tigers have Lance Klusener as their head coach, Chattogram Challengers have Paul Nixon as head coach and Shaun Tait as bowling coach, and Sylhet Sunrisers have appointed Mervyn Dillon as their head coach. Khaled Mahmud (Khulna), Salahuddin and Mizanur Rahman (Minister Dhaka) are now the only local head coaches.
The Victorians have won two BPL titles so far, first in 2015-16, when they beat Barisal Bulls in the final, and then again in 2018-19, when they beat Dhaka Dynamites in the final. Salahuddin has been their head coach from the first season, in 2012.