Naveed Nawaz gets early release from the BCB to join SL national team

By Bipin Dan

Former Sri Lankan batter Naveed Nawaz has got an early release from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), it is learnt. 

According to highly placed sources in the BCB, the 48-year-old Nawaz, who was officiating as the Under-19 head coach in Banglaesh, has been given early release to join the Sri Lankan team as an assistant coach. 

One of the sources, speaking exclusively over the telephone, said on Sunday morning, “His contract has a clause for a 3-month notice period but has been relieved earlier.” 

It is also learnt that Nawaz, who lives most of the time in Australia when not in Bangladesh, will return to his birth country, Sri Lanka, within the next four days. The new head coach Chris Silverwood is also expected to arrive at the same time. 

Both will be part of the touring squad to Bangladesh. 

Nawaz, who was initially the TAC (Technical Advisory Committee) first choice as a head coach, will look after the batting aspect. “He will play a dual role, though we are in the process of sending a specialist batting coach to Bangladesh,” one of the sources in Colombo confirmed. “Had Silverwood’s appointment not been confirmed, Nawaz would have been the interim head coach.”

Australia’s Tim McCaskill, who is the Head of National Cricket Development at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), was involved in the process of hiring Silverwood.