Bangladesh suspends coach Chandika Hathurusingha over allegations of slapping a player, Phil Simmons to take temporary charge

After their humiliating tour of India, there is more trouble brewing for the Bangladesh cricket team. As per reports carried out by ESPNCRICINFO, coach Chandika Hathurusingha has been suspended for allegedly slapping a player during the 2023 ODI World Cup. Former West Indian star Phil Simmons is set to take over till the 2025 Champions Trophy. 

BCB put out a statement which read “Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha has been suspended following allegations he slapped a player at last year's ODI World Cup. His contract will be terminated after 48 hours of suspension, with Phil Simmons to take over until next year's Champions Trophy”

Bangladesh had toured India after their successful sojourn to Pakistan where they won the Test series 2-0. Rohit Sharma and his team beat Bangladesh 2-0 in the Test series and also won the T20I series with a 3-0 margin under Suryakumar Yadav. In the last game, India posted 297 on the board which is the best by any Test-playing nation. 

Bangladesh Cricket Board releases statement 

Farque Ahmed who is the president of Bangladeshi Cricket Board said “Hathurusinghe has two counts of misconduct. The first is about an assault on a player. Secondly, he took too many leaves, more than what was in his contract."

Meanwhile, former skipper Shakib Al Hasan is free to travel to the country as per sports advisor Asif Mahmud. The Bangladeshi minister said “Legal matters are beyond my authority. It’s a sub-judice matter and under the jurisdiction of the law ministry,” 

Asif Mahmud also added “It is our responsibility to ensure the security of every player, and we will do it. Regarding my ministry, I have looked into whether there are any legal barriers to Shakib’s entering or leaving the country. To the best of my knowledge, there are none. It’s not my concern if the court issues an order regarding Shakib’s travel”

The Bangladeshi side will next play South Africa at home in a two-match series. It will be interesting to see if Shakib is picked for the series. The 37-year-old had stated his intent to hang up his boots in front of his home fans.