Chandika Hathurusingha has returned to the Bangladesh men's national team as its head coach.
Not long after Cricket New South Wales confirmed that Hathurusingha had parted ways with them, the BCB announced a two-year deal starting next month. It has, however, not been confirmed which formats Hathurusingha would be in charge of, with S Sriram also around and at the helm of the T20I side.
ESPNcricinfo understands that discussions about the roadmap between Sriram and the BCB in Dhaka earlier this month didn't provide clear answers. But the board had said in December last year that it wants Sriram to be the long-term T20I head coach. If that remains true, Hathurusingha might only be connected with the Test and ODI sides.
"It's an honour to have been given this opportunity to coach the Bangladesh national team once again," Hathurusingha said in a statement. "I really loved the warmth of the people and the culture of Bangladesh. I'm looking forward to working with the players once again and enjoying their successes."
Hathurusingha oversaw a good run for Bangladesh the last time
This is 54-year-old Hathurusingha's second stint with Bangladesh after he had served as the head coach from 2014 to 2017. That included Bangladesh's famous ODI series-winning streak at home, that included beating Pakistan, India and South Africa in consecutive months. Under Hathurusingha, the team also made the knockout stages of ICC events at the ODI World Cup in 2015 and the Champions Trophy in 2017, and also recorded their first Test wins against England, Australia and Sri Lanka.
During Hathurusingha's time with the team, Bangladesh had a 40.20% success rate in 102 matches across formats. For the record, that's lower than what his successors - and now predecessors - Steve Rhodes (51.11) and Russell Domingo (42.34) achieved.
"Chandika's experience and knowledge of Bangladesh cricket will be an advantage for him and will benefit the players," BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. "He is a proven tactician and we have seen his impact on the national team during his first assignment."
Following his time with Bangladesh, Hathurusingha went back to Sri Lanka, his home country, and took charge as the head coach of the national men's team there, before moving to New South Wales in July 2020.