BCB to extend Hathurusingha's contract

Bangladesh Cricket Board is willing to extend coach Chandika Hathurusingha's contract which ends in May this year, said BCB President Nazmul Hassan Papon.

Hathurusingha, who joined as head coach of the national team following the departure of Shane Jurgensen back in May 2014, was given a two year contract which is set to expire this year.

The confirmation about Hathurusingha’s contract extension came while the BCB president was speaking to The Daily Star's correspondent in Kolkata.

The senior players in the side have also supported the board's intentions. Some of them even went on to say that Hathurusingha should in fact be given the reigns of the team for at least three years so that the Tigers can prepare for the next World Cup properly.

The team was going through one of its worst forms when Hathurusingha took over in 2014. However, ever since then, it witnessed a dramatic shift in fortunes for Bangladesh.

They went on to do well in the 2015 World Cup and then beat India, Pakistan and South Africa at home. Many consider 2015 to be the best year ever for Bangladesh in international cricket.

A coach with an extremely strict work ethic, several players, including Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Tamim Iqbal have credited Hathurusingha for the change in Bangladesh's playing style in the last one year or so.