Saqlain back as Bangladesh spin consultant

Saqlain Mushtaq will rejoin Bangladesh as their spin bowling consultant for the side's tour of Zimbabwe. He will join the squad in Dubai on Wednesday from where the team will travel to Harare.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has a deal with the former Pakistan offspinner for 100 days of work this year, after his previous contract ended last December. This will be Saqlain's first assignment with Bangladesh in 2013. He wasn't with the team on their tour of Sri Lanka.

"We will only call Saqlain when the need arises," BCB's cricket operations chairman Enayet Hossain Siraj said. "We will not ask him to stay with us for a prolonged period. He will work for 100 days in a year, and this will start with the series against Zimbabwe."

Saqlain was appointed in July last year when Richard Pybus was head coach. He was with the team during the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and the subsequent home series against West Indies.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh have had to cancel their official training session scheduled for Tuesday due to the countrywide general strike. The team will get five days of training in Harare ahead of the first Test that begins on April 17.