Dhaka [Bangladesh], April 6 : Former South African batter Nic Pothas has been appointed as the assistant coach of Bangladesh men's senior team, announced the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday.

The 49-year-old has signed a two-year deal with BCB and will be starting his stint in the United Kingdom next month with a three-match ODI series against Ireland.

"Former South African batsman Nic Pothas has been appointed Assistant Coach of the Bangladesh team. The 49-year-old has reached a two-year agreement with the BCB and will join the squad in the UK next month for the three-match ODI series against Ireland to begin his new assignment," said a statement from the governing body of the sport in the country.

In a coaching career that spans over a decade, Pothas worked as the head coach of West Indies (2018-2019) and Sri Lanka (2017-2018).

He had also performed the roles of assistant coach and fielding coach of the West Indies side and had been the lead fielding coach of Sri Lanka. Prior to joining Bangladesh, Pothas was the wicketkeeping coach of Hampshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed batsman in his playing days, Pothas had appeared in three ODIs for South Africa, in which he scored 24 runs in one inning and has made over sixteen thousand first-class and List-A runs, out of which over 11,000 runs have come in the former.

Pothas said he was excited about working with Bangladesh: "I am honoured to commit to the Bangladesh National Team. The depth and array of talent running through Bangladesh are exceptional and I believe we have some exciting years ahead of us."

Bangladesh recently concluded the white-ball leg of the home series against Ireland. Bangladesh clinched the ODI series 2-0, with the second ODI washed out due to rain. The home side also clinched the T20I series by 2-1.

Currently, Bangladesh is playing Ireland in a solitary Test at Mirpur, which started on April 4 in Mirpur.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor