Mortaza welcomes 'idol' Walsh as Bangladesh bowling coach

Bangladesh limited-overs skipper Mashrafe Mortaza has welcomed the appointment of Courtney Walsh as their specialist bowling coach, saying the legend's superb record will inspire his side's fast bowlers to emulate him in the Test arena.

Earlier, Walsh had reached an agreement with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which is effective from September 1 and runs up to the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England.

"If we can learn a bit from his vast experience, it would be very helpful for us.Pace bowling has a major role in a team taking 20 wickets in a Test match, so I feel that our boys can learn from him how to go about it. His passion, the way he handled situation, these are key things that we can all take from him," Mortaza was quoted as saying by ESPNccricinfo.

The skipper believes Walsh's addition at this point of time would surely serve as a big boost to the team, which has been lacking good pace bowlers like South Africa's Dale Steyn.

"We don't have bowlers like Dale Steyn in our team. Our bowling attack needs to do well for a number of years, and not just now. We need a bowler who would take 300 Test wickets, so for that one has to perform for a sustained period. There must be ways how that can happen, and I think we learn that from him [Walsh]," he added.

Describing Walsh as his 'idol', Mortaza admitted that he was looking forward to spending time with the former in the dressing room and hoped to pick up some new tricks from him.

"I am excited that I can meet my idol in cricket. I consider it a big deal to be in the same dressing room as him. I have always liked him, especially because he was so different than the other fast bowlers in his era. He would always smile in the field. And it was not just as a bowler but also as a character," said Mortaza.

The record wicket-taker for the West Indies in Tests with 519 scalps to his name, Walsh has performed a variety of roles since retiring from international cricket in 2001 including coaching and talent spotting work, especially with fast bowlers and mentoring teams.

He has managed the West Indies Under 19 side; had been a bowling consultant for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League; was a part of the coaching team for the ICC Americas Cricket Combine; and most recently, a selector of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).