Incoming BCB presiden Faruque Ahmed has doubled-down on his condemnation of men's head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, stating that he wants to "find someone better than him" for the job.
Faruque was previously chief selector for Bangladesh before he resigned in 2016 when then-BCB president Nazmul Hassan established a two-tier selection panel, which he reportedly did at Hathurusinghe's request. However, following Hassan's resignation, Faruque was elected to the BCB president role on Wednesday (August 21). His appointment comes after weeks of unrest in Bangladesh, and 16 previous BCB directors including Hassan have been missing since the government fell on August 5.
In his first press conference since being elected BCB president, Faruque said: "I am yet to find out about Chandika Hathurusinghe's contract. I have to see some stuff officially but I have not moved from my previous stance. I 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 prepare a shortlist, and see who wants to join us on."
Faruque has previously criticised Hathurusinghe's record as head coach. Speaking on the Youtube show Not Out Norman, he said: "His credibility and background of what he has done on and off the field, there's no reason for him to stay [as Bangladesh head coach]. You will lose some money [if you sack him], but there will be greater damage by his presence. I had noticed that it is impossible to work in the environment he wants to work in."
Bangladesh qualified for the T20 World Cup Super Eights earlier this year, but lost all of their matches in that stage. Before the tournament, they were beaten in a three-match T20I series against the USA, as well as losing a T20I to Zimbabwe. They also went down 2-0 to Sri Lanka in a Test series in March.
Since Hathurusinghe returned to the head coach role last year, there has been marked instability in the Bangladesh dressing room, mostly centring around the reported rift between Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal.
"It was a real blunder to bring back Hathurusinghe for a second stint [as Bangladesh head coach]," said Faruque. "He had left us in trouble the last time he left the job [in 2017]. Bangladesh was a stepping stone for him. He went back to his country and became their head coach. I couldn't believe that a 25-member board of directors, including the president, could make such a decision. I hope they are realising their mistake."
Faruque also said that he wanted to ensure the Shakib Al Hasan could continue to play for Bangladesh, and that he would like to tempt Tamim Iqbal back out of retirement. Shakib was a member of Parliament under the previous government.
"We will give a lot of importance to understanding whether Shakib can play while staying outside of Bangladesh," said Faruque. "We have two home Tests coming up, so I will discuss with my directors what the policy should be about Shakib. It should have been a policy matter even before [he became an MP] that he won't be allowed to do politics.
"I 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. I want to speak to Tamim about his future plans. He is a former captain, so he definitely has leadership qualities. If he doesn't play, I will be happy to see him get involved with the board. He can serve us well in the board."
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