Chandika Hathurusingha to leave Bangladesh team amid political turmoil? Coach gives massive update

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha has finally spoken up on his ongoing tenure with the Bangladesh cricket team. Hathurusingha is currently in Pakistan for Bangladesh's Test series against the host nation.

Despite the political turmoil in the country, the 55-year-old is interested in completing his tenure as Bangladesh's head coach.

Hathurusingha's contract started in early 2023 and will go on till 2025. It is his second stint as the head coach of Bangladesh after his first stint during 2014-2017. During that stint, Bangladesh emerged as a strong cricket team, especially in the ODI format.

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After his first stint with Bangladesh, he left to coach his native country Sri Lanka but did not find much success there. He was Sri Lanka's head coach from 2014-2017.

Also read: England batsman expresses frustration despite being named in the Playing 11 for the 1st Test vs Sri Lanka

Chandika Hathurusingha breaks silence on coaching tenure with Bangladesh

Bangladesh is going through a lot of political changes currently. After the departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the country is run by an interim government. As a result, there is a strong possibility that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will see some major changes as well.

This puts Chandika Hathurusingha's job in danger straight away and his position will be in the hands of the new people who are expected to join the board on an interim basis.

During a chat with the reporters in Rawalpindi before the first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Hathurusingha stated that he is still interested in completing his tenure regardless of the political situation in the country.

“I have signed a contract till whatever the date and I’m looking forward to serve that term. If the board (is) changed and the new people want to make a change, I’m OK with that. (If) they want me to continue, if they’re happy with me, I’m happy with that,” Hathurusingha said.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the families that lost loved ones,” he added.

Chandika Hathurusingha has loads of coaching experience and knows quite a bit about the Bangladesh cricket team. He has been associated with the team for almost a decade now and shares a good relationship with the players.

Bangladesh's preparation for the Tests against Pakistan

Due to the unstable political situation in Bangladesh, the preparations of the team were affected but they got an additional three days of training in Lahore after arriving in Pakistan earlier than expected.

A total of six Bangladeshi Test cricketers were also involved in a four-day game between Pakistan Shaheens and Bangladesh A in Islamabad. Those players were Hasan Mahmud, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nayeem Hasan, and Zakir Hasan.

Shakib Al Hasan back for Bangladesh

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh squad will be boosted by the return of allrounder Shakib Al Hasan who is coming into the series on the back of playing a no. of franchise-based T20 leagues. Recently, Shakib played in the Global T20 Canada tournament.

The first Test of the series will be played in Rawalpindi on August 21. The second Test of the series will also be played on the same ground from August 30.