Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha suspended, Simmons to take over

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has suspended men's team head coach Chandika Hathurusingha due to inappropriate conduct by him during last year's ODI World Cup in India.

Hathurusingha, the former Sri Lanka all-rounder under whom Bangladesh recently endured a forgettable tour of India where they were whitewashed in both the Test and T20I series, will be sacked and replaced by former West Indies player Phil Simmons.

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According to ESPNcricinfo, Simmons, who was also an all-rounder and opened the batting for the West Indies in the early and mid 1990s, will be in charge of the Bangladesh team until next year's ICC Champions Trophy.

"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," the website said.

The BCB investigated an allegation from a player that the coach had slapped him during the World Cup last year.

The contract of the 56-year-old Hathurusingha, who rejoined the Bangladesh team in February last year for a second stint with the Asian side, was to expire after the 2025 Champions Trophy.

He will therefore not be present with the team for the upcoming two-match Test series at home against South Africa.

He took the team to India on the back of a historic Test series sweep in Pakistan only to suffer an embarrassing 0-2 defeat in the two-Test series against Rohit Sharma's side and a 0-3 loss in the T20I series.

His exit marks an underwhelming end to his brief stint as Bangladesh coach with debacles in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup.