Days after being sacked as Bangladesh cricket team head coach, Chandika Hathurusingha has dismissed the BCB’s allegations as ‘premeditated’. In a detailed letter, the Sri Lankan national countered the board’s claims that he was involved in a physical and verbal altercation with a player during the ODI World Cup and that he had taken unapproved leaves. Hathurusingha was terminated as coach after the BCB found his response to the show cause notice unsatisfactory.
Sacked Bangladesh coach calls BCB’s claims premeditated
In a letter, the Sri Lankan addressed the allegations leveled by the BCB one by one and explained his version of the events. Referring to the incident from 2023, Hathurusingha pointed out that the incident occurred in the players’ dugout which was constantly monitored by CCTV cameras, adding that no player had come forward to report such incident following the WC.
“It is perplexing that the player involved did not report the incident to the team manager or any authority immediately following the alleged event. If a complaint was made, I wonder why I was not questioned or approached for my side of the story at that time,” Hathurusingha wrote in a letter.
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He further claimed that he had always taken the approval of the BCB chairman and chairman of operations whenever he went on leave. He claimed that at no time did the board inform him that they were unhappy with him taking a leave. Hathurusingha added that it was a common practice for foreign coaches to take a leave during the Bangladesh Premier League, noting that it was not unique to him.
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“These allegations appear to me to be premeditated. On the first day of the new president’s term, he made a public statement expressing his desire to remove the head coach,” he claimed.
