The Bangladesh cricket team are basking in the glory of their success at reaching the semi-finals stage of a major ICC tournament for the first time in their history and it has been something that has been coming for quite some time.
The Tigers have made rapid strides in international cricket over the past couple of years or so, especially in the ODI format, having beaten the likes of India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England among others on numerous occasions. The victory over England at the 2015 ICC World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand was a monumental one as they showed that they can win big away from home as well.
And now, the triumph over New Zealand at the ongoing 2017 ICC Champions Trophy coupled with England’s triumph over Australia on Saturday meant that the Mashrafe Mortaza-led side made it to the knockout stages of the competition and they are well and truly a force to be reckoned with in ODI cricket.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has done an excellent job in getting together an excellent team together to support the players with former Sri Lankan cricketer Thilan Samaraweera acting as the batting coach, West Indies legend, Courtney Walsh donning the role as fast bowling coach and former Indian spinner Sunil Joshi acting as the side’s spin bowling coach.
While most of the above appointments have been recent ones, the one man though that has truly been the architect behind Bangladesh’s transformation is their head coach Chandika Hathurusingha. The former Sri Lankan cricketer has worked wonders with the team since his appointment in May 2014, inspiring the players to put in their best foot forward every time they step out in the middle.
Here are 10 things to know about the man behind the scenes in Bangladesh’s revised fortunes in international cricket.
#1 Most successful coach in Bangladesh history
Since taking over from his predecessor Shane Jurgensen, who resigned from his post as Bangladesh head coach following the 2014 ICC Twenty 20, Hathurusingha has transformed the Asian nation’s approach to the game at all levels. The players are more confident about themselves and the results have shown on the pitch as well with numbers backing Hathurusingha’s work.
The difference is particularly evident in ODI cricket where the performances against the best teams have also vastly improved.
Bangladesh in ODIs (As on 11 April 2017)
Overall
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tie/NR | Win% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Till April 2014 | 283 | 80 | 200 | 3 | 29% |
| Since May 2014 | 41 | 22 | 17 | 2 | 56% |
Against Top-8 teams (India, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka and West Indies)
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tie/NR | Win% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Till April 2014 | 191 | 27 | 161 | 3 | 14% |
| Since May 2014 | 28 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 38% |
Series result against Top-8 teams
| Series | Won | Lost | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Till April 2014 | 55 | 4 | 48 |
| Since May 2014 | 9 | 3 | 5 |
Hathurusingha’s record in the Test and T20 format have also been impressive making him by far the most successful coach in Bangladesh’s history
Test cricket
| Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Tie/NR | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 5 | 8 | 4 | NIL | 29% |
T20 cricket
| Matches | Won | Lost | Tie/NR | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 36% |
#2 Big influence behind the scenes
Whilst transforming Bangladesh cricket’s fortunes on the pitch, Hathurusingha has also been making changes behind the scenes as well, calling for and implementing a professional approach to the way the game in the country should be run.
In addition to the head coach’s role, Hathurusingha is also a selector and he also has a big say in the appointment of his support staff. The BCB has made a lot of investment in the former Sri Lankan cricketer and it is paying dividends. And with his contract running till the 2019 ICC World Cup there is only one way Bangladesh cricket is heading and that is upwards.
The way he has safeguarded the interests of Bangladesh cricket by curtailing youngster Mustafizur Rahman’s County Cricket and IPL ambitions in the wake of injury troubles is also commendable considering the benefits in the long run.
#3 Accomplished cricketer who arrived at the wrong time
Hathurusingha’s coaching credentials have been well established by now, but the 48-year-old was an accomplished cricketer at the first-class level as well with more than 10,000 runs and 425 wickets to his name from 207 matches.
He had a successful domestic career for Tamil Union Cricket and Athletic Club and Moors Sports Club but Sri Lanka’s strength in depth in the batting department during his time meant that Hathurusingha couldn’t find much success at the international level which was restricted to 26 Test matches and 35 ODIs.
His last international appearance came in 1999 and he retired from first-class cricket at the end of the 2004-05 season but continued playing T20 cricket for one more season.
#4 He was fired from his post as Sri Lanka’s assistant coach
Hathurusingha began his coaching career with the United Arab Emirates in December 2005 before being appointed as the coach of the Sri Lankan A side a year later. He served in the post for three years before being named assistant to Sri Lankan national team head coach Trevor Bayliss in 2009.
However, the appointment turned out to be a short-lived one as he was dismissed by the Sri Lankan cricket board on disciplinary grounds in June 2010 after he returned early from a tour of Zimbabwe to attend a coaching course in Australia.
#5 Stint in Australian domestic cricket and achieving Australian citizenship
The dismissal from Sri Lankan cricket turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Hathurusingha as he settled down in Australia and applied for permanent residency. In September 2011, he was appointed as the assistant coach of the New South Wales (NSW) side on a two-year contract but received an upgarde midway through the 2012-13 season in December 2012 when he took over as acting head coach following Anthony Stuart’s dismissal.
He once again served as deputy to Trevor Bayliss who was appointed head coach of NSW for 2013-14 but there was something better on the horizon for Hathurusingha as he was named coach of the Sydney Thunder franchise in the Big Bash League for the 2013 Big Bash League, having helped the side to Champions League success in the previous season as part of the team’s coaching staff.
#6 Highly qualified coach
While most of the modern-day coaches walk into their posts on their pedigree as a player of international repute, Hathurusingha is someone who has worked hard on his coaching qualifications to make the way up and is, in fact, one of the most highly qualified coaches out there.
He has attained the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) Level 3 coaching status, one of the most advanced coaching qualifications in the world, as well as a Level II and Level III qualification with Cricket Australia.
#7 Unconventional interview process
While many may feel that Hathurusingha might have made to make a brilliant powerpoint presentation showcasing his coaching qualifications and future ambition to nail down the job as head coach of the Bangladesh cricket team back in 2014, the truth is that former Bangladesh skipper and now a BCB Director, Khaled Mahmud, convinced BCB chief Nazmul Hassan to select him without any formalities.
“I knew Hathurusingha since his days in league cricket here. He had been working at New South Wales assistant coach and Sydney Thunder coach. As a non-Australian, he had to be extremely good to get those contracts. I needed no further proof of his coaching ability,” Mahmud had told the New Indian Express back in 2016.
#8 Someone with his own style of doing things
Hathurusingha is known as someone who wants to have absolute freedom in his work and that has at times led to some behind the scenes altercation with the Bangladesh cricket hierarchy but the fact that he was inducted into the selection panel and his well-paid contract being extended up to the 2019 World Cup just proves how much they value his services.
He received a lot of flak for backing an out-of-form Soumya Sarkar and Shuvagata Hom during the tour to New Zealand earlier this year but what needs to be remembered is that it was under Hathurusingha that a lot of the promising youngsters at present like Mustafizur Rahman and Taksin Ahmed got their big breaks.
Sometimes the decisions may backfire but more often than not, Hathurusingha’s move has proved beneficial to Bangladesh Cricket.
#9 Getting his revenge on Sri Lanka
Hathurusingha left Sri Lankan cricket in acrimonious circumstances in 2009 as stated earlier and despite then skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s repeated efforts to convince the board officials to reconsider their decision, there was no tracking back and he headed to Australia and the rest, as they say, is history.
The 48-year-old headed to Sri Lanka with the Bangladesh national team in 2016 and with former Sri Lankan cricketer Ruwan Kalpage as his deputy and another countryman in Mario Villavarayan as his team’s conditioning coach. And just as Sri Lankan stand-in skipper Rangana Herath feared at the time, Hathurusingha got his revenge as Bangladesh came out equal in all formats of the game, including a famous Test victory at the P Sara Oval, Hathurusingha’s home ground during his time as a cricketer with the Tamil Union.
That victory prompted S Skandakumar, a former captain, and president of Tamil Union C&AC, and at present Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Australia, to come out with the following message congratulating the Bangladesh head coach.
“My Dear Chandika, WOW is all I can say...and that too at the venue that nurtured you!!”
#10 Harbouring ambitions of returning to Sri Lanka cricket in 2019
Despite his past unpleasant experiences with the Sri Lankan board officials, Hathurusingha has time and again spoken of a desire to take over as Sri Lankan head coach once his contract with Bangladesh is over.
"I will absolutely come [if SLC asks me to]," he had said. "I am in this position today because of all the things I learned playing cricket in Sri Lanka. After I learned everything in Sri Lanka for about 20 years, I went to Australia and learned things there as well. But if Sri Lanka invites me at any time, I will happily come back to do something for the country."
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