The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday appointed South African Malibongwe Maketa as assistant coach of the national men's team, handing him a contract running from October 2026 to November 2028.

Maketa replaces Mohammad Salahuddin, who was recently appointed head of the BCB's High Performance Unit. The 46-year-old will join the Bangladesh coaching setup in the UAE ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan, followed by an ODI tri-series involving Afghanistan and Zimbabwe.

A Cricket South Africa (CSA) Level 4-qualified coach, Maketa brings more than two decades of experience across domestic, international and high-performance cricket in South Africa.

"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."

A rich coaching résumé

Maketa has previously served as assistant coach of the South Africa men's national team from 2017 to 2019, including at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England. During that period, he was part of the coaching staff for Test series wins against Australia and India, as well as bilateral series victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

He has also worked extensively with emerging players, having served as head coach of South Africa A, South Africa U19, the National Academy and the Warriors franchise. His stint at the National Academy focused on preparing players for international cricket, and he has coached across all formats at franchise and provincial level.

Most recently, Maketa led South Africa Emerging to the CSA One-Day Cup Division 2 title in 2023-24 and guided South Africa to the semi-finals of the ICC U19 World Cup.