Hathurusingha looks forward to speak with new BCB top brass

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha on Thursday said he is looking forward to speaking with the new honchos at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) about his future with the Tigers.

Ahead of the series-deciding second Test against Pakistan, Hathurusingha attended a pre-match press conference in Rawalpindi after the day's practice session had to be cancelled due to persistent rain.

In the press meet, the first question the Sri Lankan had to answer was regarding the new BCB president Faruque Ahmed's recent statement about not having changed his mind about wanting to remove Hathurusingha from the job.

Before being elected as the BCB president, Faruque, who also served as chief selector during Hathurusingha's first tenure with the Tigers, had expressed his disapproval of Hathurusingha several times in media and had said he would remove the Sri Lankan coach if he were to take charge.

On Thursday, Hathurusingha was asked by a Pakistani journalist about the upcoming Test potentially being his last assignment as the Bangladesh head coach.

"I understand when new leadership comes in, they have their views. But I'm looking forward to go and get a chance to speak to them," Hathurusingha replied to the question.

"My job is to prepare the team the best I can. Whatever hard work we have done in the last few months, it will be no different now. And that's our focus for the next game," he added.

Hathurusingha, who took the Bangladesh role for the second time in 2023, has a contract with the BCB until the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan in February-March next year.

Bangladesh are all set to take on the hosts in the second Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium tomorrow although there is rain in the forecast on the opening day of the contest.

The Tigers are currently leading the series 1-0 after they outplayed the hosts by 10 wickets in the opening Test in Rawalpindi last week.