Bangladesh interim head coach Courtney Walsh reckons that he would be pushing his team to perform on a consistent basis in next month’s tri-nations Nidahas Trophy 2018 after a string of poor finishes. The former Caribbean fast bowling legend, usually a pace instructor for Bangladesh, is stepping up in the absence of a coach for the Twenty20 tournament. Bangladesh lost a tri-nation series at home last month despite a strong start, before losing a series-deciding Test match against Sri Lanka inside three days.

Walsh, who has been working with Bangladesh’s bowlers since 2016, said the side lacked consistency, not talent. Talking to the reporters, he said, “If we can get consistent, we will be happy. It is going to be the biggest challenge and it is something that I will be stressing on a lot.”

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Bangladesh has been without a head coach since October when Chandika Hathurusingha, a former Sri Lankan cricketer, quit after three years to join his struggling home team. 

Former Bangladesh captain Mahmud filled the void as team director recently, when Bangladesh lost a Test and Twenty20 home series against Sri Lanka. Walsh reckons that he had not needed “a long discussion” to take up the offer. He said, “Once the opportunity came, it wasn’t anything too difficult to discuss. I want to improve what we are doing here and hopefully take up a challenge.”

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The former West Indies captain, who was once Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker with 519 wickets, said his role would be more that of a mentor than a coach. He explained, “It is going to be like a father figure, to give them the confidence.”

The Nidahas Trophy 2018, which has been organized to mark Sri Lanka’s 70th independence anniversary, will run from March 6-18 in Colombo. India is the other team in the tournament.