Bangladesh head coach Hathurusinghe fired for alleged assault on player

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe has been removed from his position by the BCB following allegations of assaulting a player during the 2023 ODI World Cup. He has been suspended for 48 hours as a notice period before being officially terminated. In addition, he has been issued a show-cause notice by the board.

The BCB also announced the appointment of Phil Simmons, the former Zimbabwe, Ireland, West Indies and Afghanistan head coach, as Bangladesh's interim head coach until the Champions Trophy in February 2025.

"Hathurusinghe has two counts of misconduct," BCB president Faruque Ahmed said at a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday. "First is about an assault on a player. Secondly, he took too many leaves, more than what was in his contract."

The suspension-cum-sacking is because of an incident at the 2023 World Cup when, during a match against New Zealand in Chennai, Hathurusinghe allegedly hit a player during one of the drinks breaks. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the player had had a slightly delayed reaction to the drinks break - he had been tasked with taking drinks out to his batters in the middle - prompting Hathurusinghe's reaction. Apparent eyewitnesses reported the incident to the BCB's higher-ups in Kolkata two weeks later, but it went unaddressed.

Ahmed also said that Hathurusinghe was guilty of misconduct as a BCB employee because of all the extra leave he took. ESPNcricinfo understands that Hathurusinghe's contract with the BCB capped his leave at 45 days per year, but he took 112 days in 2023 and 59 days till date in 2024.

The BCB's chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury handed over a letter to Hathurusinghe, informing him of the decision, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, hours before Ahmed's media announcement.

"There were couple of incidents about the current coach which, for me as a former player, were quite painful," Ahmed told the media. "As it doesn't set a good example for the Bangladesh team, we have served him with a show-cause notice and suspension from duty as head coach today. His suspension is for a 48-hour notice period, which we are not bound to give him. But we did it out of courtesy as he is an international figure. We have suspended him, and with immediate effect afterwards he will be terminated.

"There was a misconduct with a player, and misconduct as an employee. He also spent more than three months [on leave], that is also a large part of his misconduct. He informed us in a scattered way, in one or two emails, that he has to go home. It can't be for more than three months. Even as a board president, I cannot do what I want. I am guided by some rules. It is the norm. So there was a serious breach in that regard."

BCB not naming player involved in incident: 'The victim is not very comfortable about it'

Ahmed would not name the player involved in the alleged assault incident. "It was a sad incident for the particular player. I am not defending anyone, anything might happen in the heat of the moment, but you cannot hit a player. It is not on. This is the right punishment. It should have happened some time ago," he said.

"The victim is not very comfortable about it. I will not mention his name. We will only talk about the misconduct. This incident shouldn't have happened."

Ahmed said he had read about the incident before he became the BCB chief, and he started an investigation after being elected to the post in August.

"I investigated myself. I spoke to the victim. I spoke to the eyewitnesses," Ahmed said. "Both of their versions are already in the report. [The incident] was mentioned in a previous report.

"I remember feeling really disappointed when I read about the incident last year. I felt something should have be been done about it at the time. The ICC is quite strong about racism and abuse. They would be more serious about assault."

Hathurusinghe returned for his second stint as Bangladesh coach in February 2023. In August this year, shortly after Ahmed was appointed as board president, he had said that Hathurusinghe should no longer continue as Bangladesh's head coach. Ahmed said Hathurusinghe's sacking had nothing to do with "personal reasons" though.

"When I spoke about Hathurusinghe previously [before being elected BCB president], I spoke as a former player who was assessing a coach. I said at the time that he doesn't have much more to give to Bangladesh. My decision today isn't influenced by personal reasons.

Under Hathurusinghe, Bangladesh produced underwhelming performances during last year's ODI World Cup and this year's T20 World Cup. His biggest achievement in this stint was Bangladesh's 2-0 Test series win against Pakistan in August. It was their maiden win in Pakistan, and first overseas Test series win in 15 years. However, following that, in India, they lost 2-0 in the Tests and 3-0 in the T20Is which included a 133-run thrashing in the third match.

Simmons appointed after BCB speaks to 'a number of coaches'

Ahmed expressed satisfaction at Simmons being appointed interim head coach. He said that they got a coach with a good track record, who has worked in several countries and with several franchises. He said that he will be the head coach from the home Test series that starts against South Africa starting next week, running up till the Champions Trophy in February 2025. In this period, Bangladesh will also play an ODI series against Afghanistan and tour the West Indies for an all-format gig.

"We have appointed Phil Simmons for the interim period. His initial contract is up to the Champions Trophy. He was head coach in different countries. He has a very good track record. He has worked with many franchises, including tournaments like the Pakistan Super League and Major League Cricket.

"He has had a healthy career as a coach. We spoke to a number of coaches, and we got a really hard-working guy."