The Sri Lankan hand shaping Bangladesh's cricket

When a very little-known Chandika Hathurusingha was named the men's team head coach in 2014, Bangladesh were in need of a major overhaul, having lost truckloads of games both at home and away. Hathurusingha, who played for Sri Lanka in 61 international matches between 1991 and 1999, helped Bangladesh become a force to reckon with at home and led them to two the knockout stage of two major ICC events in a space of three years. 

His departure from Bangladesh in 2017 was unceremonious and the decision of bringing him back was not well-received by many especially because of his reportedly tense relationship with some senior players during the previous term.

Immediately after his return, he made some key decisions keeping in mind the next big events in mind. Hathurusingha was the head coach when Bangladesh started making square turners in Mirpur and Chattogram to rattle big oppositions. Bangladesh stuck to that even after his departure for a long time but it was Hathurusingha who brought a change.

Bangladesh ODI captain Tamim Iqbal said it was Hathurusingha's decision to move away from Mirpur and play more on better pitches in Chattogram and Mirpur. Hathurusingha spoke about dispelling the fear of failure from cricketers' minds and ensuring a dressing room environment with "psychological safety".

The approach has brought results. Bangladesh now have won three successive T20I series under him with two of them being against higher-ranked opponents. And in order to fare better in Tests away from home, Bangladesh have started experimenting playing on seam-friendly pitches at home. 

Many of those who closely observe Bangladesh cricket think Hathurusingha is the most influential Bangladesh coach ever.

"He is one of best coaches to have worked with Bangladesh," said Akram Khan, former Bangladesh captain and now a director of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). "Apart from cricketing knowledge, he offers a lot of things we haven't really found in anyone else. That's why Bangladesh have fared so well under him".

Another Sri Lankan was conducting a spin-bowling camp in Dhaka when Hathurusingha arrived in Bangladesh for a second stint. Hathurusingha played professional cricket for eight more years after Rangana Herath's first-class debut and they worked together when the left-arm spinner was in the twilight of his international career. Now they are shaping Bangladesh cricket, one as the head coach and one as the spin-bowling coach. 

But before Hathurusingha and Herath, many of their compatriots worked with Bangladesh. The six-year tenure of former Sri Lankan cricketer Mario Villavarayan as the strength and conditioning coach coincided with some of the best years of Bangladesh cricket. He helped a lot of the players improve their fitness. One of them is Tamim Iqbal.

Hathurusingha was not happy with Tamim's fitness back in 2015 and the opening better discussed it with Villavarayan. "I deeply thought about this and discussed it with our trainer Mario. It was Mario who was behind my transformation," Tamim said in 2018.

Tamim shed a few kilos and became a better player, playing long innings more frequently than ever before. 

Another person from the island country who helped not only the top-level players but also the fringe players grow was Ruwan Kalpage, former all-rounder who played 11 Tests and 86 ODIs for Sri Lanka. He joined Bangladesh National Cricket Academy as the high-performance head coach in 2008 and when he was dismissed by the BCB in 2016, he was Hathurusingha's deputy.

When Bangladesh take on Sri Lanka in their first match in the Asia Cup in October, Hathurusingha will meet a lot of players whom he coached. There will be another sweet reunion. Sri Lanka assistant coach Naveed Nawaz will get to meet the likes of Towhid Hridoy and Shoriful Islam, the players who were part of the champion Bangladesh side coached by the former in the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.

Thilan Samaraweera, the prolific former Sri Lanka batter, worked with Bangladesh as a batting consultant and was part of the coaching staff led by Hathurusingha when Bangladesh made the semi-final in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. 

But there's another Sri Lankan man who applied for the job of Bangladesh batting consultant once. Five years ago, it didn't happen. But the BCB went back to him with a different job offer and it's safe to say, he has done quite well.

Hashan Tillakaratne joined Bangladesh women's team as the head coach in October last year and under him, Bangladesh won a T20I against Sri Lanka in their own backyard, beat India in T20Is after five years and registered their first-ever win over the same opposition in ODIs in a space of two months.

The BCB has recently roped in Dinuka Hettiarachchi as the spin-bowling coach of the women's team. With the 2024 T20 World Cup taking place at home, the spinners should have a lot of say and that's why Hetiarachchi's appointment could be a great addition. Upon his arrival, he had a spin-bowling camp and the spinners fared unbelievably well against India in the white-ball series.

Tillakaratne understands some senior players don't have much time left and that's why he sees the importance of nurturing upcoming talents.

"We need to nurture them and we need to train them carefully, give them confidence, and bring them to the international stage. That is what we have been doing," Tillakaratne said.

Now this is a philosophy that is followed by Hathurusingha as well, who played with Tillakaratne 56 times in international cricket. Hathurusingha was instrumental in blooding players like Litton Das, Mustafizur Rahman, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Ebadot Hossain when they were young. All of them have established themselves as reliable operators over time.

"In 2019, I want to bring the Bangladesh team to where Sri Lanka were in 1996," Hathurusingha said in 2017. He did not get to coach Bangladesh in 2019. Will he be able to do that in 2023? Hathurusingha's old mate Tillakaratne, who was part of that 1996 Sri Lanka side, thinks Bangladesh have "all the ingredients" to do so.

But why are there so many Sri Lankans? 

Given Sri Lanka's generally high level of education among South Asian countries, it is not difficult to find Sri Lankan coaches well-versed in the best practices around the world. They of course also have a more chequered history in international cricket than Bangladesh. 

And then, as a South Asian country, Sri Lankans have the added advantage of cultural similarity with Bangladeshis, especially when compared to international coaches from Western countries. 

But the dependence on Sri Lankans also indicates the board's lack of faith in local coaches. We've seen many times that players seek help from local coaches when they get in trouble. 

The BCB involved local coaches in the Under-19 level and women's cricket but is yet to give them a break in men's senior cricket. The likes of Khaled Mahmud, Sarwar Imran, Sohel Islam and Mohammad Salahuddin worked with the team but only for a brief period of time.

"We have not really thought about making coaches," renowned local coach Nazmul Abedeen Fahim told The Business Standard last year. "You have to make coaches just like you make players. We have U-19 team, A team, HP team but there's rarely a local coach. It's tough when I see that even the U-19 team is dependent on foreign coaches."

The overwhelming Sri Lankan presence or the presence foreign coaches is bringing results. But it can be a wake-up call for the BCB as well. The lack of local coaches at the top level is alarming.