Reporters had been chasing him since his return from vacation last Sunday, and finally Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha spoke to them yesterday to put to rest all the speculations about him taking the reins of Sri Lanka and revealed his goal by saying, “Coaching Bangladesh and winning the next series is what’s most important to me.”
Showing utmost respect to Australia, regardless of the fact that they are sending an inexperienced side, the Sri Lankan said that his side has the opportunity to rewrite history during the two-match Test series at home.
“Regardless of who will come, playing Australia is a big task for us. But I’m really optimistic because these conditions are going to challenge them. And we are also improving as a team, so I’m optimistic that we can do something we have not done before against them.
“With that said, you can’t take Australia lightly. They have the best system when it comes to producing cricketers in the world. And recently their A team played really well in India so it’s going to be a challenge,” said Chandika while speaking at an official press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
“No official contact has been made with me [by Sri Lanka Cricket]. As a professional coach whenever there’s an opportunity for a job, sometimes your name comes up. That’s all I have to say.
“Coaching your own country is something anyone would like to do, but it has to be at the right time. At this stage I’m very happy with what I’m doing. Not only the players or my staff, but even the board has been giving us a lot of support. And we have started doing well, so everything has fallen into place. I’m very happy with where I am at this stage,” he said, clearing the air.
Expressing his satisfaction over the fitness camp with the elite players, the Bangladesh head coach wanted more pacers fighting for their places on the national side.
“Not only for the fast bowlers but also for the batsmen it [fitness] is crucial as well. If you are not fit, you can’t play long innings. And when fatigue comes in, your concentration level goes down and as a batsman you need just one mistake to lose your wicket. Fast bowlers, we don’t have many so we have to look after them. I would love to see 10 pacers fighting for three places, but it’s not the case for us. So it’s important for us to focus on fitness to keep them ready to play,” he said.
Chandika also hoped that young pacer Taskin Ahmed, who will travel with the Bangladesh A team to India and is likely to play the longer-version matches, will be seen in the longer-version format internationally.
“We consciously keep him [Taskin] away from the longer version because somebody bowling 140-145 kmph at the age of 19 or 20 is not easy. We have to look after him. We are gradually bringing him to the longer version and we hope he will be ready to play Tests very soon.”
He was also happy with the A team’s tour to India, especially when the World Twenty20 is set to take place there next year.
“For most of our one day players to go and play in India, I think it’s a good opportunity for us to expose those players to Indian conditions. Also, India always has a very good A team with a lot of depth so in that sense I’m happy with that [the tour].”
