Carl Hooper denies interest in Bangladesh coach role

Sydney: Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper has claimed he is not interested in taking up the vacant Bangladesh coaching job, adding he is upset by far-fetched reports linking him as the replacement for Richard Pybus.

Australian pace great Craig McDermott and 41-Test New Zealand opener Mark Greatbatch are reportedly frontrunners for the job, which Bangladesh cricket officials want filled by a March tour of Sri Lanka. Bowling coach Shane Jurgensen is another candidate to assume the head role after guiding Bangladesh to a one-day series triumph over the West Indies in December, it reported. However, 102-Test batsman Hooper has claimed he would certainly not become Bangladesh’s new coach. The 46-year-old is currently steering Adelaide side Woodville, which won last season`s grade title, and he added that the Bangladesh board asked him if he was interested. Hooper added that he replied he wasn’t and that was the last he heard of it, adding that he had hoped Bangladesh would withdraw what they have apparently told a cricket website that he was interested in the job. Hooper said he has not applied for the job and he is not interested since he is enjoying his time at Woodville. Having worked with the South Australia`s development program, family man Hooper remains open to an elite-coaching role, but primarily in Australia or the Caribbean where he retains close ties with native Guyana. ANI