Bangladesh Cricket Board sacks Ruwan Kalpage as bowling coach

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has terminated the contract of bowling coach Ruwan Kalpage. Reports from ESPNCricinfo went on to state that the Sri Lankan international had been terminated after failing to show up for work on the 16th of August 2016. The same was confirmed by the media manager of the Bangladesh Cricket Board Jalal Yunus.

“We had sent him a letter asking him to return to work by August 16, but he didn’t respond to us. So the BCB has terminated his contract,” Yunus told ESPNcricinfo.

While some reports go on to suggest that Kalpage was indeed absent due to the ongoing security concerns in Dhaka, CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury stated that the board is in a position to take action against Kalpage for not showing up. Although the BCB reported that the Sri Lankan and the Board were in constant touch, the fact remained that he did not show up for work as expected.

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The BCB has taken drastic efforts to provide security for their employed staff in the wake of the Dhaka attacks. Moreover, the fact of the matter has also seen head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, fielding coach Richard Halsall and strength and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayan all returned to Dhaka earlier this month. They have been each assigned a security officer.

Kalpage has been associated with the Bangladesh Cricket team since 2014 when he signed a 2-year contract to serve as assistant coach for head coach Chandika Haturusingha. His appointment came at the same time of the other two coaches as well. Similar to the rest of the staff, Kalpage was given a contract extension, something that would keep him at the club till the close of the 2019 World Cup. He had earlier worked in Bangladesh as the National Cricket Academy’s head coach from 2008 to 2010. Earlier, Bangladesh had appointed Aaqib Javed as the coach on a short-term stint.

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