Altaf Hussain, independent BD's first coach, dies

Altaf Hussain, independent Bangladesh's first cricket coach, passed away in the city on Tuesday, reports ESPNcricinfo.

He was Bangladesh's head coach in the 1990 Asia Cup, having held a similar role with several representative sides in the 1970s and 1980s.

Altaf was awarded the National Sports Award in 1999 for his contribution to Bangladesh cricket, particularly in the period following the 1971 war of independence, when cricket in the country seemed to have a bleak future. He was also a first-class umpire, and his name always seemed to crop up whenever someone talked about coaching or umpiring in the early days of Bangladesh.