Hathurusingha signed for two years
An understanding of different conditions and cultures has played a vital role in Chandika Hathurusingha's appointment as the new head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team.
The former Sri Lanka batsman's desired financial package and interest in a full-time job also gave him the edge in getting the two-year term ahead of former Australia batsman Michael Bevan, who was the other interested candidate but with a more expensive financial package and comparatively lesser interest in a full-time tenure.
"We have finalised a two-year agreement with Hathurusingha. The agreement begins on July 1 this year, but since we are playing against India next month, we are hoping he will arrive by June 10,” said Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon while making the official announcement.
"Apart from Chandika Hathurusingha, we had a few alternatives. We thought that he could be our best choice because of two reasons -- his knowledge of sub-continental wickets and his work experience in Australia. He worked in Sri Lanka for long and played for the national side. He has worked in Australia and with the World Cup coming up, this is a good combination for us,” said Papon.
“I think we were looking for this type of coach, one who has knowledge on sub continental and Australian conditions. Hathurusingha is among the high-profile coaches from around the world as far as I am concerned," he added.
Hathurusingha's tactical shrewdness was highly praised by none other than Sri Lanka batting maestro Kumar Sangakkara during his role as a shadow coach but a disciplinary issue terminated his association with the national side in 2010.
Papon was not in a position to disclose the financial package of the new coach, but if the amount is one to two thousand dollars more than predecessor Shane Jurgensen, as hinted by Papon, then the figure will be around 18,000 dollars.
A five-member special committee was given the task of finding new coaches to replace Jurgensen, trainer David Dwyer, batting and fielding coach Corey Richards and Richard McInnes, the head coach of the National Cricket Academy.
Besides a new head coach, David Dwyer has been replaced by Sri Lankan Mario Villavarayan as the new strength and conditioning coach.
BCB is still in discussion with candidates for the role of the fast bowling coach; former Zimbabwe fast bowler Heath Streak and Champaka Ramanayake have reportedly been approached by the BCB.
"We are trying to get the other coaches but I don't think we will get everyone before the India series. We are communicating with them and because not all of them are full-time coaches, we are trying to work out a time slot. We haven't gone too far in this regard, so we don't want to talk much about it," said Papon, adding that Chaminda Vaas's name is also there in the list of probable fast bowling coaches.
Papon said that the preparation camp for the India series will start by May 25 and local coaches will look after the boys before the new head coach takes over.
Comments