Bangladesh have replaced their coach Chandika Hathurusingha after being accused of slapping a player.
Hathurusingha, the 56-year-old former Sri Lanka international who played 26 Tests for his country, was in his second stint as head coach of the Bangladesh men’s team but was suspended for 48 hours for misconduct.
When those 48 hours are up, his contract will be “terminated immediately” and he will be replaced by former West Indies coach Phil Simmons, who will take over as interim head coach for the next few months.
Reports said Hathurusingha had been the subject of an investigation by the Bangladesh Cricket Board after a player, left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed, accused him of “inappropriate behaviour”. Nasum alleged that Hathurusingha had slapped him.
“There were some incidents which, as a former cricketer, were painful for me,” BCB president Faruque Ahmed said.
“All in all, we issued a show cause notice and suspended him from his coaching position. After 48 hours you will be dismissed. Harassment of a cricketer was one of the reasons. Also, taking leave without permission is another problem.”
Bangladesh finished eighth out of 10 teams in the World Cup, enough to qualify for the Champions Trophy ahead of Sri Lanka. The Champions Trophy will be held in Pakistan and Simmons will remain in charge until the end of that tournament.
Ahmed took over as president in August this year and in his first press conference in office said Bangladesh wanted to “find someone better than” Hathurusingha to coach the national team, indicating a change was likely.
However, the timing is curious. Bangladesh recently won a test series 2-0 in Pakistan, then lost 2-0 in India and will host South Africa in a two-match series starting next Monday.
