Bangladesh assistant coach Richard Halsall takes an indirect dig at Chandika Hathurusingha

Bangladesh started the tri-series with an incredible victory over Zimbabwe in the first ODI match in Dhaka. The hosts defeated the opposition by eight wickets courtesy a great effort by their bowlers who bowled Zimbabwe out for a paltry total of 170 runs. Bangladesh assistant coach Richard Halsall stated that it is eventually the performance of the players which influences the result of a particular game of cricket.

It was indirectly aimed at the current Sri Lankan head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who was earlier with the Bangladeshi side. Hathurusingha had a contract until the 2019 World Cup but decided to switch when Sri Lanka Cricket put up a much better offer on the table. He must be busy right now figuring out the different strategies and combinations for the game against Bangladesh in the tri-series.

Players force the result in a game

Halsall revealed that the current Sri Lankan head coach is a very good individual for that role, but he cannot play a big part to affect the outcome of a match. Keeping in mind the guidance and directions he is capable of giving the team, the assistant coach expressed at the end of the day it is important that the players respond in the expected manner and only then can a team win.

“Chandika is a very good coach but as we saw last night, its Tamim Iqbal who scores the runs and Shakib Al Hasan who takes wickets. Chandika can’t score runs or take wickets,” said Halsall as quoted by The Daily Star.

He mentioned that it was pleasing to watch the great performance of the Bangladeshi team in the first game of the contest which brought a smile on the faces of the players during their travel time back to the hotel after the conclusion of the match.

“Really pleasing to put in a performance which I think you can tell by this morning and going back to the hotel last night made everyone smile. So that’s the most pleasing thing. They are a very proud group of players and they really enjoyed playing for their country,” the assistant coach added.