NEW DELHI, OCT 15
Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe has been sacked by the BCB for the alleged “assault” of a player during the 2023 ODI World Cup. He has been suspended for 48 hours in lieu of a notice period, and he is to be “terminated immediately” after that period. He was also served a show-cause notice by the board.
The BCB also announced the appointment of Phil Simmons, the former Zimbabwe, Ireland, West Indies and Afghanistan head coach, as Bangladesh’s interim head coach until the Champions Trophy in February 2025. “Hathurusinghe has two counts of misconduct,” BCB president Faruque Ahmed said at a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday. “First is about an assault on a player. Secondly, he took too many leaves, more than what was in his contract.”
The suspension-cum-sacking is because of an incident at the 2023 World Cup when, during a match against New Zealand in Chennai, Hathurusinghe allegedly hit a player during one of the drinks breaks. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the player had had a slightly delayed reaction to the drinks break – he had been tasked with taking drinks out to his batters in the middle – prompting Hathurusinghe’s reaction. Apparent eyewitnesses reported the incident to the BCB’s higher-ups in Kolkata two weeks later, but it went unaddressed.
Ahmed also said that Hathurusinghe was guilty of misconduct as a BCB employee because of all the extra leave he took. ESPNcricinfo understands that Hathurusinghe’s contract with the BCB capped his leave at 45 days per year, but he took 112 days in 2023 and 59 days till date in 2024.
The BCB’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury handed over a letter to Hathurusinghe, informing him of the decision, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, hours before Ahmed’s media announcement.
“There were couple of incidents about the current coach which, for me as a former player, were quite painful,” Ahmed told the media. “As it doesn’t set a good example for the Bangladesh team, we have served him with a show-cause notice and suspension from duty as head coach today. His suspension is for a 48-hour notice period, which we are not bound to give him.
But we did it out of courtesy as he is an international figure. We have suspended him, and with immediate effect afterwards he will be terminated.
“There was a misconduct with a player, and misconduct as an employee.
He also spent more than three months [on leave], that is also a large part of his misconduct.
He informed us in a scattered way, in one or two emails, that he has to go home. It can’t be for more than three months. Even as a board president, I cannot do what I want. I am guided by some rules. It is the norm. So there was a serious breach in that regard.”
