On Friday, the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced that Malibongwe Maketa of South Africa would take on the duties of assistant coach for the men’s national team. Maketa has succeeded Mohammad Salahuddin, now in charge of the BCB High Performance Unit, and his contract extends until November 2028.
Maketa, age 46, will start working with Bangladesh’s coaching team in the UAE, preceding the Test match with Afghanistan and the ODI series with Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. Maketa is a Level 4 coach as certified by CSA and possesses solid experience in both domestic and international cricket spanning over twenty years.
“I am pleased to accept the position of assistant coach with the Bangladesh national team. I am truly grateful for the trust and confidence placed in me by the Bangladesh Cricket Board, and I look forward to contributing positively to the team’s success,” said Maketa in a statement.
“We have a young and exciting team, and I am looking forward to working alongside Phil [Simmons] and the rest of the coaching staff to help bring out the best in the players and support their continued development. Thank you once again for the opportunity. I am excited to begin this journey and contribute to the Bangladesh National Team.”
Malibongwe Maketa joins Bangladesh coaching staff
Previously, Maketa worked as South Africa men’s national team assistant coach, as head coach of South Africa A and South Africa U19, as well as in the same positions in the National Academy and in Warriors franchise.
Working as the assistant coach of the South African national team from 2017-19, Maketa also coached the team at the ICC Cricket World Cup of 2019 in England. He has been part of the coaching staff in the Test series victories against Australia and India and in the bilateral series victories against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Moreover, in his earlier career he has worked with promising cricketers by leading South Africa A and South Africa U19, while his work in the National Academy included preparing cricketers to future international matches.
More recently, Maketa has been head coach in two different teams of South Africa U19 and National Academy, when also working with South Africa A teams. He succeeded to lead South Africa Emerging to win the CSA One-Day Cup Division 2 in the 2023-24 season and also to make it to semi-finals of ICC U19 World Cup.