U19 World Cup winning coach Naveed Nawaz given contract extension

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Naveed Nawaz

Naveed Nawaz, Bangladesh’s Under-19 World Cup winning coach, has penned a three-year deal with Bangladesh Cricket Board, it was confirmed on Tuesday (July 7). He was appointed the head coach in 2018 and helped Bangladesh clinch the title earlier this year by beating India in the final in South Africa.

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BCB also extended the contract of Under-19 strength and conditioning coach Richard Stonier until 2022. “We had taken the decision earlier that we will continue to work with those who were involved with our Under-19 World Cup squad considering they have done a great job,” BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. “They did a great job. They brought a trophy like World Cup for Bangladesh Cricket. We had a plan to keep everyone and as part of that plan, we have extended the contract.”

Nawaz, a Cricket Australia high performance (level three) coach, is a former international cricketer for Sri Lanka and was an accomplished first-class batsman during his playing career. The 46-year-old has been involved in different coaching capacities since his retirement in 2004. He worked with the Sri Lanka Under-19 side from 2009 to 2014 as a batting coach and then was part of the Emerging Players Squad in 2014-15 before joining BCB.

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Stonier had been working as a physical trainer for different franchises in T20 leagues in the last seven years. He has worked with Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League before coming on board with BCB. BCB game development manager, AEM Kawser, told Cricbuzz that BCB is planning to use Nawaz in other development projects as well in the coming days. “He is assigned to look after the Under-19 squad but we are planning to use his expertise in other game development program as well,” Kawser revealed. “If required, naturally we will seek his help, like he can be a batting coach in one of our camps.”

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However, Kawser clarified Nawaz won’t be joining the Under-21 outfit. BCB introduced the unit after the arrival of Under-19 World Cup winning squad to groom Akbar and Co. for the future.