Why will there be a question about Hathurusinghe now?

Why will there be a question about Hathurusinghe now?

Whether or not Chandika Hathurusinghe will be the coach of the Bangladesh cricket team is not a question to be asked now. The team has just returned home after going to Pakistan and thrashing Pakistan in the Test series. After this success, which is the best in the history of Bangladesh cricket, it is supposed to be discussed whether the contract with Hathurusingh will be renewed after the expiry of next February.

However, there is great uncertainty about Hathurusinghe's presence in Bangladesh's tour of India, which will begin in less than two weeks. What is the reason? Because Farooq Ahmed, who dramatically became the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board after the mass coup of July, has strong objections to coach Hathurusinghe.

The objection is unknown to anyone who has the slightest interest in Bangladeshi cricket. Because in all the interviews Farooq Ahmed gave after resigning from the post of Chief Selector in 2016 in protest of the two-tier election system, his dislike towards Hathurusingha remained common. After taking charge of the board president, who has informed that he is in the same position with Hathurusinghe.

Farook Ahmed's resignation in protest against the election system made a puppet by the electors makes the people known to some extent. He did not agree to compromise after raising objections and not working. He moved himself in protest. Hathurusingha will also play a role in the introduction of the two-tier election system. Because it gave him the opportunity to play a direct role in party elections. It is not difficult to assume that this is one of the reasons for Farooq's resentment towards Hathurusingha. He may also dislike Hathurusingha's coaching style. But is that enough to remove Hathurusinghe six months before his term ends?

 The final judgment of a coach is with the proverb 'What is the name of the tree, the result is the identity'. There is no one here even close to Hathurusingha. Excluding New Zealand's victory in the Mount Manganui Test, all of Bangladesh's major victories in Test cricket came during Hathurusingha's tenure.

The way Hathurusinghe stepped down during his first tenure as Bangladesh coach (2014–2017), his return surprised many. There are many questions about Hathurusingha's man management. His spat with senior cricketers is not an unknown fact. There has been a big debate about these.

However, it is a question whether Hathurusingha's controversial decisions were taken out of personal preference or for the good of Bangladesh cricket. Most of the time no one had time to think about this question in the passion of the cricketers.

 If Farooq Ahmed thinks that having Hathurusingha as a coach will cause a big loss to Bangladesh cricket, then he should say it.

There can be arguments about these, but the ultimate judgment of a coach is the proverb 'what is the name of the tree, the result is the identity'. There is no one here even close to Hathurusingha. Excluding New Zealand's victory in the Mount Manganui Test, all of Bangladesh's major victories in Test cricket came during Hathurusingha's tenure. Best success in ODIs too.

The 2015 ODI World Cup quarter-final and the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final are still Bangladesh's best achievements in these two global tournaments. If Hathurusinghe is to be blamed for the failure of the 2023 ODI World Cup, he must also be given some of the credit for those two successes. If all this seems like a distant past, take a look at Bangladesh's recent performance in Test cricket.

The memory of the historic series win in Pakistan is fresh. If we go back a little, it will be seen that Bangladesh has won five of the last eight Tests. The progress graph is very clear. There are three more major Test series this year. After returning from India, Bangladesh will host South Africa in October and West Indies in November. In order to continue the trend of improvement, common sense would say that it is better not to change the team now.

And yes, another allegation against Hathurusingha is very audible. Allegations of arbitrariness. Although it is not his responsibility, but the cricket board's. Board president Nazmul Hasan, who departed after the July revolution, had no chain of command in the BCB. Like the state system here too everything was centralized. The national team coach is supposed to have primary accountability to the cricket management department; But Hathurusinghe used to go directly to the board president's court with everything. Nazmul Hasan enjoyed it very much and encouraged it. Hathuru then why care about anyone else? It is not such a big problem, even the new BCB president doesn't do anything like that.

If Farooq Ahmed thinks that having Hathurusingha as a coach will cause a big loss to Bangladesh cricket, then he should say it. Otherwise, if Hathurusinghe is sent off after this success in Pakistan, the question will arise whether personal anger or affection played a role in this decision.

One could also equate it with the desire of a former captain eager to return to the team. Because common cricket wisdom says that since Hathurusingha's contract expires in six months, it is best to find a new coach and not renew the contract with him during this period. Bangladesh already has a bad name in world cricket when it comes to sacking coaches. It is not yet clear why Hathurusingha's two predecessors, Russell Domingo and Steve Rhodes, had to leave. Domingo did indeed resign, but he did so knowing that BCB would not keep him.

The coach will come, the coach will go - that's the rule. However, if Chandika Hathurusinghe is sent off after this success in Pakistan, it will be a big surprise to the cricket world. Bigger than going to Pakistan and whitewashing Pakistan.