Najmul Hossain Shanto unaware of controversial snubbing of as Chandika Hathurusingha head coach

Bangladesh were hit with a shockwave after their the sacking of Chandika Hathurusingha as the head coach. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cited him to have assaulted a player during the ODI World Cup 2023 as well as taking more off-time than permitted in the contract as their reasons for making the abrupt move.

All-format skipper of Bangladesh, Najmul Hossain Shanto, did not have anything concrete to speak on the statement due to him being completely unaaware of what had taken place, as per his revelation in a pre-match conference ahead of the first Test versus South Africa.

"I really don't know (alleged assault) this. Honestly, I don't know about this," stated Shanto when asked for his statement on the issue during a press conference on Sunday, as quoted by The Daily Star.

Also Read: Phil Simmons isn't planning too much, he is trying to understand everything: Najmul Hossain Shanto

Interestingly enough, the erstwhile board president, Nazmul Hossain, had come out and labelled the accusation to be unsubstantiated.

On being asked about the action he would take if a similar incident occurs in the future, Shanto's reply was extremely straightforward.

"Anything like that won't happen again," replied Shanto on the situation.

Earlier, in an open letter, Hathurusingha asserted that the allegation of assault was only based on the claims of  a YouTuber and that there being neither any video evidence of the incident nor any public testimony from the alleged victim made the conditions surrounding his sacking mysterious and unwarranted.

Bangladesh aim to start afresh with Phil Simmons

With there being a couple of alterations in the Bangladeshi setup with the likes of Shakib Al Hasan missing out on making the squad after isolating himself on the grounds of securuty and the influx of Bangladesh's new head coach, Phil Simmons, the Tigers would be aiming to take on the Proteas with renewed vigour.

Also Read: 'Wasn't a hard decision’ - Phil Simmons after being appointed as new Bangladesh coach

The first of the two Tests is set to commence on October 21 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.