Ottis Gibson decides not to coach Bangladesh anymore; contracts with Multan Sultans

Former West Indies cricketer Ottis Gibson has decided not to renew his contract as the fast bowling coach of the Bangladesh national cricket team. The 52-year-old coach has completed his two-year contract with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and will join Pakistan Super League (PSL) team Multan Sultans from January 27.

Jalal Yunus, chairman of the BCB’s cricket operations committee, said that Ottis Gibson did not want to renew his contract, which the BCB had accepted. The local coaches will temporarily guide the fast bowling department, and he hopes the BCB will soon appoint another foreign coach to replace Gibson.

Yunus added that the BCB had several potential candidates to replace Gibson but did not mention those names. Since Champaka Ramanayake in 2009, Bangladesh has started to choose a foreign fast-bowling coach. Bowling coaches such as Heath Streak, Ian Pont, Charl Langeveldt, Courtney Walsh, and Shane Jurgensen have worked with the senior team before Gibson.

Ottis Gibson joined the Bangladesh team in January 2020 as Charl Langeveldt. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he had to keep in touch with players only virtually after initially working with select bowlers in Dhaka.

Gibson’s time in Bangladesh team management coincided with when they wanted to improve the fast bowlers in the home conditions. He was even the only voice to call senior player Mashrafe Mortaza to retire from international cricket.

His best time with the team came this month on the tour of New Zealand, where the fast bowlers picked up a great victory against the hosts by 13 wickets in the Mount Maunganui Test. It’s inevitable that Ebadot Hossain, who took six wickets for 46 runs in the second innings, is a fast bowler who has benefited from Gibson as his bowling coach.