Cricket: Bangladesh appoint Shaun Tait as new pace bowling coach
Tait to oversee Tigers’ pace attack until 2027
Following the departure of Andre Adams, whose contract with Bangladesh came to an end by mutual agreement last month, the Bangladesh Cricket Board have now secured the services of former Australian speedster Shaun Tait as their new pace-bowling coach for the foreseeable future.
The 42-year-old put pen to paper on a contract that is believed to run until November 2027, a period during which he will be tasked with overseeing the team’s pace bowling unit through the 2026 T20 World Cup and 2027 ODI World Cup, which we will be covering with our cricket predictions.
Tait is no stranger to Bangladeshi bowlers, having worked with the likes of Shoriful Islam and Khalid Ahmed while serving as the head coach of the Chittagong Kings, who finished as runners-up last season in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Additionally, the former Aussie paceman has also worked as a bowling coach with the Pakistan and Afghanistan national teams, the West Indian Test squad, and served stints in the Big Bash League, Pakistan Super League and English county cricket. Discussing his latest role, Tait said:
“It’s a good time to be involved with the Bangladesh cricket team right now, a bit of a new era if you like. It’s been spoken about many times recently—the young talent with the fast bowlers - which is great. This is international cricket, not a development team, and everyone expects the talent to bring results, which is very much my focus with the fast bowling group and most importantly, getting more wins for the team.”
Tait will now join the Tigers’ backroom staff, which features the likes of former West Indian great Phil Simmons, as well as Andrew Puttick, Jason Douglas, Hamid Hassan and his former teammate Shane McDermott.
Tait’s record during his playing career
During his playing days, Tait was known for his express pace and remains one of the fastest bowlers in history. His fastest delivery was clocked at a staggering 161.1 km/h (100.1 mph), which is the second fastest delivery on record behind Shoaib Akhtar’s 161.3 km/h ball against England.
The 42-year-old also holds the record for the fastest ball bowled in an Indian Premier League match, clocking a blistering 157.71 km/h (97.99 mph) while playing for the Rajasthan Royals against the Delhi Daredevils back in 2011.
For Australia, the right-arm speedster played a total of 35 ODIs, six Test matches and 21 T20Is, picking up 62, 5 and 28 wickets, respectively, with best bowling figures of 4/39, which came in the 50-over format.
Tait’s first assignment for his new employers came on May 17 against the United Arab Emirates at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, which served as preparation for the Tigers’ upcoming tour of Pakistan later this month.
