Chandika Hathurusingha was recently confirmed as the head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team. On the first day of his return, Hathurusingha stopped at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur to greet the team.
Chandika has not been Bangladesh’s coach for over five and a half years since he left in 2017 to become the head coach of Sri Lanka. During his time with the Bangladesh team, Chandika led them to many historic victories at home and abroad.
Among the many victories is the famous win against England in the 2015 World Cup and series wins against Pakistan, India, and South America.
Who Did Chandika Meet and Greet?
The 54-year-old arrived on Monday night to begin his second stint as head coach of the Tigers.
According to reports, Chandika entered the field and met Najmul Hossain Shanto first, along with spin coach Rangana Herath. The three were seen sharing a light moment with smiles all around when ODI captain Tamim Iqbal joined in greeting the new head coach.
Hathurusingha then met with other cricketers in the ground, compatriot Gamini de Silva, and BCB director Khaled Mahmud Sujon.
Among the players that joined in the practice session and went to greet Chandika were: Taijul Islam, Nasum Ahmed, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Shoriful Islam, Towhid Hridoy, Nurul Hasan Sohan and Yasir Ali.
Afif Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, and manager Nafees Iqbal also joined the meet and greet.
After greeting everyone, Chandika departed for the dressing room to hold a meeting with ODI captain Tamim and former team director Mahmud.
Following the greetings, Chandika proceeded to the dressing room to conduct a meeting with ODI captain Tamim and former team director Mahmud.
Statements from Bangladesh Team and Chandika
After Chandika’s meet and greet, the Bangladesh team was questioned about the new head coach.
“It’s been good and he knows most of the players so hoping for good things. I think technically he is very good with plans and I feel that he has already done his homework before arriving here,” Nurul Hasan Sohan said on his experience today while talking to the media.
When Chandika touched down at Hazrat Shahjalal International airport on Monday night, he expressed how he was happt to be back and that he liked the people of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Status and Future Matches
The Bangladesh team’s last match was in December 2022. It was a Test series against India, and India 2-0.
This year, Bangladesh will welcome England in March for three ODIs and as many T20Is. The upcoming T20I series marks the first bilateral encounter between the two teams.
The last time England travelled to the Asian country was in 2016, where they emerged 2-1 victors in the ODI series. Aside from this, England and Bangladesh have only faced each other in T20Is once, and it was the in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
The ODI series starts on March 1, while the T20I series starts on March 9. Following these matches against England, Bangladesh will have an ODI and T20 series against Ireland starting March 18.