Chandika Hathurusinghe In Line To Become New Sri Lanka Coach

Sri Lanka are looking to snap up the services of former Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe who resigned from his position with the Tigers. He had stepped down from his role earlier this month after a disastrous tour of South Africa.

He has been linked heavily with the role in his native Sri Lanka with the job sitting vacant ever since South African Graham Ford quit in June. In that period, Sri Lanka suffered an embarrassing thrashing against India at home in Tests, ODIs and T20s before winning the Test series against Pakistan before collapsing in ODIs and Twenty20s.

Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara chose not to comment on the discussions but hoped the former Test player would take up the job. “I (would) certainly welcome Hathurusingha to prepare our team for the next World Cup,” Jayasekara told reporters in Colombo. “But I don’t want to say anything about the discussions that are taking place.”

Under Hathurusingha, Bangladesh have made giant strides in the world of cricket reaching the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in England earlier this year. Later Bangladesh staged a miracle win over Australia in the first Test at home but the two-match series ended in a 1-1 draw.

However, he came under fire later in a horror show in South Africa. Against the Proteas, Bangladesh lost the two Tests, three ODIs and two T20. His contract with the Bangladesh Cricket Board was up until the 2019 World Cup and earned $40,000 a month.

He is now expected to horne talent in Sri Lanka with a focus on the 2019 World Cup to be played in England. He played 26 Tests and 35 ODIs for Sri Lanka before becoming the assistant coach under Trevor Bayliss, a job he lost in 2010. He was later appointed coach for Australia’s New South Wales side, landing the more lucrative Bangladesh job in May 2014.

Courtesy : indianexpress