Mohammad Ashraful has been removed as Bangladesh’s batting coach four days before the Test series opener against West Indies in Mirpur, with Mohammad Salahuddin appointed on an interim basis, the Bangladesh Cricket Board confirmed on Saturday, October 24.
Shahriar Nafees, head of the board’s cricket operations department, confirmed the change.
According to Cricbuzz, Ashraful was informed of the decision by the board’s cricket operations department. The former captain then left the national players’ WhatsApp group, posting a message that read 'Thank You' on Saturday.
Ashraful later confirmed the news to Cricbuzz, having taken part in a training session with the squad at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium earlier that day. “Yes, I am not working with the national team,” he said, adding that he was waiting for his next assignment.
Mohammad Salahuddin, who heads the High Performance unit, will cover the role on an interim basis. He will work with Litton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim and the other batters through the two Tests, and will stay on until a permanent appointment is made.
Ashraful took the job in November 2025 on a deal running until next February. The board has said he will remain involved in a new role, though he now sits outside the set-up for this series.
The move is believed to follow the batting failures in the tri-nation ODI series in the United Arab Emirates. Led by Towhid Hridoy, Bangladesh were bowled out for under 200 in both matches and missed the final.
They made 172 chasing 271 against Zimbabwe, then 160 after batting first against Afghanistan. Their white-ball batting has struggled for a long time, even though the Test side have performed comparatively well.
Concerns reach back to June and July, when Bangladesh lost the one-off Test and the ODI series in Zimbabwe. A first-innings 426 helped win the opening Test in Australia, but they were then bowled out for 64 and 95.
Discussions are under way with some foreign batting coaches. BCB sources say a permanent appointment will follow the West Indies series, so the search begins after the two Tests.