BAN vs SL: Chandika Hathurusinghe travels back home, assistant coach Nic Pothas to take charge for second Test

The head coach of Bangladesh, Chandika Hathurusinghe, will be absent for the second Test versus Sri Lanka to be played from March 30, 2024, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. Regarding the development, the Bangladesh Cricket Board stated that Hathurusinghe has travelled back home to Australia due to "personal reasons". There's no update on when Hathurusinghe will return back to Bangladesh.

The former South African wicketkeeper Nic Pothas, who holds the capacity of assistant coach, will take charge of Bangladesh as interim head coach for the second Test.

The home team arrived at Chattogram from Sylhet with the first Test going in favour of the Lankans who won by a whopping 328-run-margin, after which quite a few questions were pointed towards the Bangladeshis with regard to their aptitude in the longest format of the game.

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The Colombo-born 55-year-old Hathurusinghe had previously coached Bangladesh in a stint running from June 2014 to October 2017. He took over for the second time in Febraury last year. Between the two spells as head coach for Bangladesh, he was in charge of the Sri Lankan team and also held the role of batting coach at New South Wales in the Australian domestic circuit. 

The 50-year-old Pothas, who joined Bangladesh in April last year, has previously served as the interim head coach for both West Indies and Sri Lanka. 

Shakib Al Hasan replaces Towhid Hridoy for second Test vs Sri Lanka

Shakib Al Hasan, having been treated for an eye condition of late, and who hasn't participated in a Test match since April last year, has been drafted into the Test squad as a replacement for uncapped Towhid Hridoy. Hridoy was included in the 16-player squad for the first Test but didn't make it into the XI.

Also Read: Shakib Al Hasan returns for 2nd Test in Chattogram