Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cleared the air on the future of men's national team head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, according to Cricbuzz.
A board official said that the Sri Lankan will arrive in Bangladesh before the upcoming tour of India and guide the team forward against the Asian neighbours. Since Faruque Ahmed took over as BCB president, there has been speculation regarding Hathurusingha's future.
Hathurusingha has a contract that runs until next year's Champions Trophy and just oversaw a historic series win in Pakistan. However, it is no secret that Faruque has been vocal against Hathurusingha in the last two years. He even made it clear that he hasn't changed his stance after taking over the BCB post.
Hathurusingha intended to get together for a talk with the BCB hierarchy, but arrived in Bangladesh with the team and left the following day without meeting the new board president. BCB director Nazmul Abedin however, brushed aside all kind of speculation regarding the immediate future of Hathurusingha.
"The head coach will come, and he will be here in Bangladesh (and will guide the team against India)," Nazmul said. Hathurusingha is expected to reach Bangladesh on September 12.
Onto Shakib Al Hasan's availability, Nazmul stated that he will not be present when Bangladesh begin preparation for the tour at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Dhaka on September 9. Shakib is currently in England playing county cricket for Surrey.
"Shakib will come to India from England to play. For now we know this much and we want to keep it that way," he said. "There is no injury problem as far as I know. Hopefully the whole team will be available. Shakib has gone to play County and I am hoping everyone else will be available. From September 09, the whole team is expected to practice in full swing," he added.
India and Bangladesh are scheduled to play a two-match Test series and a three-game Twenty20 International series starting from September 19.
The first match of the two-Test series will get underway on September 19 in Chennai, while the second Test is set to begin from September 27 in Kanpur. But even before the start of the series, security has become a concern for the Bangladesh team ahead of their much-anticipated tour of India.
"These things happen (threat) and it is present while playing in almost all the countries," said Nazmul."I don't think it's a big threat. We will go the way our tour has been fixed," he said.
