Sriram arrives without ‘baggage’

Bangladesh's newly-appointed technical consultant Sridharan Sriram will also be in charge of the side for the Asia Cup with head coach Russell Domingo excluded from T20 plans and instructed to focus on ODI and Tests by the BCB. The new coach said that his biggest strength would be that he will be starting 'fresh' and without the baggage of Bangladesh's poor run of performances in T20s and also his own frustrations from playing days.

Sriram was asked how his ten thousand domestic runs help him coach. The coach was pretty straightforward in pointing out that his playing career did not matter now. He pointed out that his knowledge of working in different culture can help his cause.

"I just forgot the fact that I was a player and it doesn't matter how many runs you have scored because at the end of the day I am here to help other people and that is my biggest strength and I don't carry baggage of my playing days, my frustration and my past into coaching. The others have different set of eyes and my experience of dealing with different cultures like work with the IPL, work with the Indian boys and work with the Aussie set-up and so I think there is a good mixture of the east and the west," Sriram said.

"Coming into the culture like Bangladesh I understand the upbringing and I understand the way they approach the game and at the same time I can bring those professionalism and the expectations and I can really set clear expectations of what is required at this level from a professional stand point so I think it's a good sort of combination and I am looking forward to it," he added.

Sriram informed that he first got the call to work with the Tigers from team director Khaled Mahmud. The Bangladesh coaching panel has legendary former players like Allan Donald and Rangana Herath while Jamie Siddons has experience of working here in Bangladesh before as head coach. Having arrived at a very short notice, Sriram was not looking to dictate terms rather he explained that his job would be to bring the coaching resources together and he was not going to lead but collaborate.

"I think it's [my role] very simple and I am very clear about my role here, probably bring the resources together. We got some very good skill coaches and I trust what they are doing completely and my job is to basically work with the captain, work with the team director and bring the skill coaches together. Bring all the three components together and use my T20's experience of IPL and Australia and bring a strategy where we can use our resources properly and so I am very clear about my role and I am not saying I am leading the side and I am just trying to collaborate," Sriram said.

Asked if he can make a difference in a short period of time, Sriram was adamant that he was not concerned by what has happened in the past.

"I am carrying with a fresh set of eyes and I am carrying no baggage. What you are saying is news to me and so I am not looking it at that way and looking at fresh set of eyes and so I am bringing in my ideas and I am bringing in fresh energies and so and I am just wanting to get the team together and start afresh," the coach said at the press conference ahead of yesterday's practice session in Dubai.