In his first press conference as the BCB president, Faruque Ahmed has reiterated that Chandika Hathurusinghe should no longer continue as Bangladesh\u2019s head coach. He had expressed the same view past this week as well, before taking up the BCB job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am yet to find out about Chandika Hathurusinghe\u2019s contract. I have to see some stuff officially but I have not moved from my previous stance,\u201d Faruque said on Wednesday. \u201cI have to speak to my colleague over the next two or three days, and see if we can find someone better than him. We have to formulate a shortlist, and see who wants to join us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faruque had resigned as the chief selector in 2016 after then-BCB president Nazmul Hassan put a two-tier selection panel, allegedly at Hathurusinghe\u2019s request. Hathurusinghe\u2019s current contract as the head coach runs till the end of February 2025, when the Champions Trophy is also scheduled to get over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHis reliability and background of what he has done on and off the field, there\u2019s no reason for him to stay as Bangladesh\u2019s coach,\u201d he said on the YouTube show Not out Noman. \u201cYou will lose some money if you sack him, but there will be greater harm by his presence. I had noticed that it is impossible to work in the environment he wants to work in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Hathurusinghe was brought back for a second stint in 2023, Faruque was one of those who had questioned his return. Notwithstanding the BCB showing confidence in Hathurusinghe, Bangladesh didn\u2019t continue the upswing of Steve Rhodes and Russell Domingo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Within a few months of Hathurusinghe\u2019s appointment, there was variability in the dressing room, with Tamim Iqbal retiring and Shakib Al Hasan lashing out at Tamim in the media. Allan Donald soon left his role as fast-bowling coach. Bangladesh\u2019s T20 World Cup performance was also sub-par, with many questioning Hathurusinghe\u2019s decision-making in the Super Eight game against Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a real mistake to bring back Hathurusinghe for a second stint,\u201d Faruque said. \u201cHe had left us in trouble the last time he left the job in 2017. Bangladesh was a walking stone for him. He went back to his country, became their head coach. I couldn\u2019t believe that a 25-member board of directors, including the president, could make such a decision. I hope they are realising their mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThose who brought him back thought that he was a magician. They thought that only Hathurusinghe created this bubble of success. Cricket is not about magic. Bangladesh\u2019s success is due to a combination of players, coaches, selection committee and even board officials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his long press conference at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, Faruque also said that he wanted to understand if Shakib was willing to play in Bangladesh this year. Shakib was an Awami League member of parliament until the government fell on August 5. Several ministers and MPs have been arrested since then while others have gone into hiding. They were also targets of violence in the aftermath of Awami League\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will give a lot of position to understanding whether Shakib can play while staying outside Bangladesh. We have two home Tests coming up in October, so I will discuss with my directors what the rule should be about Shakib. It should have been a policy matter even before he became an MP that he won\u2019t be allowed to do politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faruque, however, was confident of Tamim\u2019s return to international cricket. Tamim had briefly retired from international cricket last year before making a U-turn on his decision and also opted out of the central contacts. He last played for Bangladesh in September 2023, after which he played in the BPL and DPL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe relevant board department will see what he has to do to play [for Bangladesh],\u201d Faruque said. \u201cI would like to see Tamim Iqbal play for two or three years more. Maybe ODI is his best format now. I think Tamim can tell you better whether he can play the longer format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to speak to Tamim about his future plans. He is a former captain so he certainly has leadership qualities. If he doesn\u2019t want to play, I will be happy to see him get involved with the board. He can serve us well in the board.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In his first press conference as the BCB president, Faruque Ahmed has reiterated that Chandika Hathurusinghe should no longer continue as Bangladesh\u2019s head coach. He had expressed the same view past this week as well, before taking up the BCB job. \u201cI am yet to find out about Chandika Hathurusinghe\u2019s contract. I have to see…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,60],"tags":[916,915,73,134],"class_list":["post-7295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket","category-international-cricket","tag-chandika-hathurusinghe","tag-new-bangladesh-cricket-board","tag-slsports","tag-sports-news"],"yoast_head":"\n