Saqlain offered post of Bangladesh spin-bowling consultant

Saqlain Mushtaq, the former Pakistan offspinner, has been offered the post of Bangladesh's spin-bowling consultant for a period of three months. Saqlain's appointment was approved by the BCB at a board meeting on Wednesday, but he is yet to sign a contract.

The BCB is hopeful Saqlain will join Bangladesh on their tour to Europe, during which they will play Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands from July 16. "There are a few formalities that are not complete, but we hope he joins us on July 15 in Ireland," BCB director Enayet Hossain Siraj said.

During the meeting it was decided that the short stint could be a probation period for Saqlain, but there was no talk of a prolonged contract. Saqlain, 35, had worked with Australia spinner during the 2009 Ashes and then served as spin consultant for New Zealand for a year from August 2009.

The BCB directors also approved the appointment of Australia's Richard McInnes as the head coach of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for a period of two years. He is expected to arrive in Bangladesh later this month and take over a position that has been vacant since October last year, when his countryman Ross Turner resigned on health grounds.

This is McInnes' second stint in Bangladesh, after serving as Bangladesh Under-19s' coach and helping set up the high performance unit in 2003-04. Several current national players passed through the unit's programme, and it was the precursor of the NCA.

Also, Sri Lanka's Haputhanthrige Weerasinghe was appointed coach of the Bangladesh women's team, taking over from former India player Mamatha Maben.