Hathurusingha’s 1st chapter in Bangladesh cricket: The good, the bad, the ugly
Chandika Hathurusingha is a divisive figure in Bangladesh cricket.
To some, he is the strict headmaster who architected Bangladesh’s most successful period in international cricket.
To others, he is an overrated coach who was the beneficiary of having Bangladesh’s five stalwarts at the height of their powers at his disposal.
The truth, most likely, is somewhere in between.
Over five years had passed since Hathurusingha was Bangladesh’s coach and the talks over the Sri Lankan had died down.
But now, Hathurusingha has once again become the most talked about name in the country’s cricket fraternity after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced his reappointment as head coach in all formats.
Will Hathurusingha’s second coming be a glorious one or will it end up in smoke, time will tell. But before Hathurisingha's second chapter begins, Prothom Alo takes a closer look at the good, the bad and the ugly of Hathurusingha’s first run in Bangladesh cricket.
The good
When Hathurusingha joined Bangladesh as the head coach, the team was going through its worst run in recent memory.
Bangladesh had lost seven consecutive One-Day Internationals (ODI) at home, suffered an ODI defeat to Afghanistan and even lost a Twenty20 against Hong Kong in Dhaka in the ICC T20 World Cup.
In his very first series in charge, Hathurusingha saw his charges lose an ODI series at home against a second-string India team.
The lowest point came in the second match of that series, where they got rolled over for 58 runs chasing a meagre 106-run target.
Mashrafe then took over as the captain in limited-overs formats and the partnership of Hathurusingha and Mashrafe ushered in a golden run for the Tigers.
Mahmudullah, a player on the verge of getting axed from the team, was reborn as a no. 4 batter, promising left-handed opener Soumya Sarkar was plucked out of almost nowhere and placed at the top-order, Sabbir Rahman was brought in to finish the innings in the slog overs.
The punts taken under Hathurusingha worked their magic as Bangladesh surpassed all expectations in the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia, knocking out England to qualify for the quarterfinal for the very first time.
After the World Cup, Bangladesh had three marquee home series that year, against Pakistan, India and South Africa.
Bangladesh clean-swept Pakistan in the ODI series, completed a hard-fought draw against them in the Khulna Test and won the one-off T20, their first win in the format over the South Asian rivals.
In that T20 against Pakistan, a lanky left-arm pacer named Mustafizur Rahman made his international debut.
Against India, that pacer from Satkhira bamboozled the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with his mysterious cutters, claiming 11 wickets in his first two matches and sealing the ODI series for the Tigers.
Bangladesh also secured a draw in the one-off Test against India, albeit it was in a heavily rain-hit match.
Then came the South African team, who clean-swept Bangladesh in the two T20 series. But the hosts bounced back in the 50-over series and won it 2-1.
The two-Test series ended in a 0-0 draw in another rain-hit series.
Hathurusingha’s Bangladesh team then pulled off two landmark Test wins at home in 2016 and 2017 against England and Australia respectively.
In between those two wins, Bangladesh also defeated Sri Lanka in the Colombo Test which was their 100th match in the longest format of the game.
In the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah formed a mammoth 224-run partnership to orchestrate a five-wicket win over New Zealand, which took them to the semifinal of the competition for the very first time.
In between, Bangladesh also made it to the Asia Cup T20 final in 2016 at home, where they lost to India in the final.
The bad
The Test triumphs against England and Australia under Hathurusingha were tainted.
The record book would mark them as Bangladesh’s first-ever Test wins over two of the oldest cricketing nations. But the truth is that both those Tests were played on heavily turning pitches, where pacers had very little to do.
Bangladesh’s woes in Test cricket are well known. And to become a better Test nation, the first thing Bangladesh needed to do is to form a decent fast-bowling attack that can help them fight against stronger teams on away Tests.
But that process would take patience and wouldn’t bring immediate results.
So Hathurusingha went the other way. His ploy of playing on turning wickets paid dividends as Bangladesh won. But such shortcuts didn’t bring any long-term benefits for the Test team as whenever they played in different conditions, they got pummeled.
The Ugly
A big reason why Hathurusingha is being brought back is his strictness inside the dressing room, which BCB feels is necessary to keep the Bangladesh players in line.
During his last tenure, Hathurusingha had severe disagreements with Shakib, which resulted in the all-rounder receiving a six-month suspension.
Hathurusingha also decided that Mominul Haque is only suited for Tests, wanted to oust Mahmudullah from the Test team and played a role in Mashrafe’s sudden retirement from T20Is.
During Hathurusingha’s tenure, BCB high-ups started getting more involved with the team selection process, which is highly unconventional. Hathurusingha also had a significant say in team selection, much more than any previous coaches.
However, the ugliest part of Hathurusingha’s first tenure was the manner of his exit.
On October 2017, the Bangladesh team went to South Africa on a tour that did not go well. They lost all three of the ODIs and the two Tests comprehensively.
During such a difficult tour, Hathurusingha sent his resignation letter to the BCB via email, without specifying why he wanted to quit.
The board demanded an explanation but Hathurusingha didn't provide any. In fact, he didn’t even bother returning to Bangladesh with the team after the series.
The reason behind his wanting to quit came out a few days later. In December, Hathurusingha was named the coach of Sri Lanka for reportedly a much improved salary.
After such an exit, the Hathurusingha chapter of Bangladesh cricket seemed closed forever. However, now Hathurusingha is certain to return to Bangladesh.
Now, does the Sri Lankan sees this opportunity to right some wrongs or is he planning to once again establish his ‘dictatorship’ over Bangladesh cricket, we will find out soon enough.