There has been insinuations and suggestions in the country’s cricket fraternity that incoming Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s assistant could feature someone from the local background.
When the question was placed to Comilla Victorians head coach Mohammad Salahuddin on Saturday, he outright rejected the notion that he wanted to be involved with the national setup.
For Latest News, Follow “Rexo News” on Google Channel.“I think those that are working with the board would fit well. When I want to work somewhere, I need to have an idea of what the coach is like. I don’t know what kind of coach Hathurusingha is.
“The age I am at, I don’t know if I have the mentality to adjust. I have been working as a head coach for five-ten years and I have to see whether I have the capability to work as an assistant coach now,” said Salahuddin during a press conference while also stating that Hathurusingha might just have a magic wand, given the way the BCB sought him out for a return as head coach.
“Since I have been working for a long time and also worked with the national team before, the board will decide on that. I am not currently thinking of it,” Sohel Islam, the Rangpur Riders head coach and mentor to many of the national crickets, said on Saturday.
The question, however, remains whether an assistant coach appointment will have to be run by Hathurusingha first. The Sri Lankan had not been known to actively seek local coaches as a medium to communicate with players during his previous stint with BCB. However, in Khaled Mahmud Sujon who was the team manager back then, he had an assistant coach who not only was well adept at communicating with the players but also managing them.
Without Mahmud in the picture at the moment, would the BCB appoint someone they see fit?
It was learned that the BCB are still looking at the assistant coaching role although related departments are yet to mention any names of local coaches being approached.
“There are certain aspects of role distribution that we have to finalise. We have to figure out what role will be handed to Jamie Siddons and after that we will sort things out regarding other roles,” a BCB higher-up told The Daily Star on conditions of anonymity.
Siddons had returned to the Bangladesh team as a batting consultant, having previously served as the head coach. The Australian had expressed his wish to work with age-level players in development before, and thus it remains to be seen what role is attributed by the BCB now.
However, it is understood that the coaching positions will be sorted by BCB this time around and not everything will go through Hathurusingha.