File photo of Chandika Hathurusingha.
| Photo Credit: AP
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is still interested in completing his contract with the men’s national cricket team to 2025 despite the recent political turmoil in the country.
There is a strong possibility of a major shakeup in the Bangladesh Cricket Board after the turmoil.
“I have signed a contract till whatever the date and I’m looking forward to serve that term,” the 55-year-old Hathurusingha told reporters in Rawalpindi on Monday.
“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.” He also said his “thoughts and prayers are with the families that lost loved ones.” Hathurusingha is preparing his team for the opening game of a two-match test series against Pakistan, starting Wednesday at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Hathurusingha, a former Sri Lankan international cricketer, was appointed Bangladesh’s all-format coach early in 2023 on a two-year contract. It was Hathurusingha’s second stint as Bangladesh coach after 2014-17 before he left to coach Sri Lanka.
The unrest in Bangladesh disrupted the preparations back home of its test team and players got an additional three days of training in Lahore when they arrived in Pakistan last Tuesday.
Six Bangladesh test players, who came with the country’s “A” team, also got a four-day practice game against Pakistan Shaheens in Islamabad, although the drawn game was disrupted by the weather.
The Bangladesh test squad includes star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was a lawmaker in ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, but was playing in Canada at the time she resigned earlier this month.
Pakistan has included pace bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shehzad and Mohammad Ali in its playing XI for the first test.
The selectors had already released sole specialist leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and uncapped batter Kamran Ghulam.
Rawalpindi will also host the second test from Aug. 30. (AP) AM AM AM
