Physiotherapist Julian Calefato has become the fifth South African to join the Bangladesh staff.

Calefato previously worked with Gloucestershire in English county cricket.

‘Calefato brings with him comprehensive sports physiotherapy expertise and will be a welcome addition to the national team set-up,’ said Bangladesh Cricket Board chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury.

South African Russell Domingo recently succeeded Englishman Steven Rhodes as Bangladesh head coach. Former Proteas batsman Neil McKenzie and countryman Ryan Cook were retained as batting and fielding coach, respectively. Ex-Proteas seamer Charl Langeveldt was hired as bowling coach.

‘I am both a physiotherapist and a strength and conditioning coach and have applied my skill set internationally across a variety of professional sports at the highest level,’ Calefto said at the time of the Gloucestershire appointment in late 2017.

‘Some of the sports I’ve worked in are cricket, rugby, the America’s Cup, weight-lifting, the Volvo Ocean Race and ice hockey. I enjoy building relationships with people and contributing to their success both personally and on the sports field.’

Bangladesh will contest a one-off Test with Afghanistan in early September.

The future of ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza, meanwhile, remains in the balance. Mortaza led Bangladesh through a disappointing 2019 World Cup campaign. They beat South Africa and the West Indies, but failed to win seven other fixtures.

‘Because we don’t have any ODIs until next March, Mashrafe has said that he needs another couple of months to be fully ready for a decision. We will respect that,’ said BCB president Nazmul Hassan.

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