On behalf of the Bangladesh players, I salute Hathurusingha: Mashrafe Mortaza

Bangladesh’s one-day international captain Mashrafe Mortaza gave credit to former head coach Chandika Hathurusingha for the Tigers’ recent success in world cricket but also praised the players who stepped on the ground to achieve success for their country. Hathurusingha resigned from the Bangladesh coach’s post following a disastrous tour to South Africa where Bangladesh lost seven games on a trot across the three formats. He was later appointed Sri Lanka’s head coach.

The Lankans are currently touring Bangladesh to take part in the tri-nation ODI series to be played between Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. When Mashrafe was questioned about Hathurusingha’s achievements, he said, “Our dressing room has a large heart. On behalf of the Bangladesh players, I salute Hathurusingha”. The former Bangladesh coach will have a lot of insight on each Bangladeshi player. The Bangladesh skipper believes that they will have to execute their plans rightly in order to put up a good performance.

It’s not only about Hathurusingha

“We got success playing under him. I have no problem in giving him credit but we did execute it in the 22 yards. The coach didn’t have to do anything special to Tamim [Iqbal], Mushfiqur [Rahim], Shakib [Al Hasan] or Mustafizur [Rahman]. They did it themselves, and ultimately took on the pressure,” Mashrafe said to the media during the pre-match press conference at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka Sunday.

Mortaza reckons that the players have an integral part to play on the field and the coach has very little to do when a player is batting or bowling during a game.

“When Mahmudullah made that hundred against New Zealand, I don’t think anyone had to guide him through that innings. He performed according to his ability. The 34-year-old also said that they backed the coach 100% throughout his stint as coach and they are doing the same with the current coaching staff. He also wished good luck to Hathurusingha for his future endeavours. “They are going to do the same, with full professionalism. But good luck to Hathu. We are more concerned about ourselves right now”, added Mortaza.

Bangladesh will face a tough challenge in the upcoming tri-series with the added pressure of playing at home. Mortaza said that they will try to put the previous tour aside and playing for the country puts pressure on a player which can force the best out of him. “We don’t have the pressure we have felt in the past. I don’t want them to be too relaxed because sometimes nervous energy can bring out the best in a player inside the field,” he ended.