Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha has said prolonging the slanging match with his colleagues at the BCB would do a disservice to the players. Rather, much of his focus is on seeing the new opening pair get into the groove in the first two ODIs against Pakistan.
Hathurusingha’s comments on the World Cup squad selection, before and after the tournament, drew a sharp riposte from Naimur Rahman, the chairman of BCB’s cricket operations committee. All matters of the Bangladesh team are handled by this department, making Naimur Hathurusingha’s direct superior in the board.
Naimur had called Hathurusingha “immature” for talking about selection matters in the media, and said he had asked the coach not to bypass him before going to the board president for any matters. It was also reported earlier in the week that Hathurusingha hadn’t attended a coordination meeting of the cricket operations department, and had instead sent the manager Khaled Mahmud. A move that drew more criticism from Naimur, also a BCB director.
When asked if he would send Naimur a reply, Hathurusingha said it was time to give the limelight back to the players, whose success was in danger of getting short-changed.
“It is a very technical issue,” Hathurusingha said. “I cannot talk much about it. It is unfortunate that the team is doing well but these issues are diverting what the team is doing. I think it is time for us to focus on the team that is doing well, rather than the attention and time spent on some other things.
“I don’t want to play whatever happens in my office in public. So that’s not a cricketing question. We need to focus on the team doing well. By talking about these unnecessary things, I don’t think I am doing justice to the players.”
