Hathurusingha named Bangladesh coach

The BCB has appointed Chandika Hathurusingha, the former Sri Lanka batsman, as Bangladesh's head coach for a two-year period. He has left his position as the assistant coach of New South Wales and coach of Sydney Thunder, and is expected to arrive in Dhaka on June 10. This will be his first stint as head coach of an international side.

"The two-year agreement has been finalised with Chandika Hathurusingha," BCB president Nazmul Hassan told reporters. "Although the agreement begins on July 1 this year, since we are playing against India next month, we are hoping he will arrive by June 10.

"We had a few alternatives apart from Chandika Hathurusingha. The first reason to choose him is his knowledge of subcontinental conditions. Plus he has worked in Australia and with the World Cup coming up, this is a good combination for us. Hathurusingha is among high-profile coaches from around the world, as far as I am concerned."

He has had experience at the helm of both New South Wales, in the latter half of the 2012-13 season, and Sydney Thunder. New South Wales won the Sheffield Shield in March, their first domestic title since 2008. His tactical acumen was highly acclaimed during his tenure as shadow coach with the Sri Lankan team but a disciplinary issue had terminated his association with the side in 2010.

Hathurusingha replaces Shane Jurgensen who resigned as Bangladesh coach in April after completing 14 months of his two-year stint. A five-member special committee was put in charge to find new coaches to replace Jurgensen, trainer David Dwyer, batting and fielding coach Corey Richards and Richard McInnes, the head coach of the National Cricket Academy.

Dwyer has been replaced by Mario Villavarayan as the new strength and conditioning coach, although BCB is still in discussion with candidates for the role of fast bowling coach.

During the press conference, Hassan was asked about Chaminda Vaas as the potential bowling coach while ESPNcricinfo has learned that Champaka Ramanayake is also being approached by the BCB. Ramanayake used to be Bangladesh's bowling coach between 2008 and 2011. It was also understood that another former fast bowler is being approached for a short-term role.

"We have appointed Mario Villavarayan as the strength and conditioning coach, also for two years. He will join us by the fifth or sixth of June. We are also looking for specialist coaches, especially fast bowling, spin and fielding.

"We are trying to [appoint someone soon], but I don't think we will get everyone before the India series. We are communicating with them, because not all of them are full-time coaches, so we are trying to work out a time slot. We haven't gone too far in this regard, so we don't want to talk much about it," said Hassan.

Regarding Vaas, he said, "His [Vaas'] name is also there in the list for fast bowling coach. But we are talking elsewhere too."

Hathurusingha had expressed interest towards a role with Sri Lanka, who are also looking for a new head coach after Paul Farbrace agreed to become England's assistant coach.