Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed that Khaled Mahmud Sujon will supervise the team in interim basis in their upcoming tour in Sri Lanka as they don’t get a permanent before the series.
Bangladesh will leave the country on July 20 for a three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka, for which they have two-day camp at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, starting on July 18.
Shakib Al Hasan and Liton Das will be unavailable for the series with the former going to perform Hajj while Liton will tie the knot when the series will be going on.
There was fitness concern of captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and middle order batsman Mahmudullah Riyad but both of them are fit to play, said Cricket Operations chairman Akram Khan.
Akram revealed that the national selectors have already picked up the team for the series and it will be announced after it gets approval from the BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon.
“We are trying to get a suitable coach for us but at the moment possibility is slim that we’ll get someone before the series. If we don’t get one, Khaled Mahmud will take the responsibility of the head coach as interim basis. We will let you know the decision within two or three days,” Akram said here today.
Being the interim coach of Bangladesh is not new to Sujon. In 2017, he took the responsibility as temporary basis after sudden exit of Chandika Hathurusingha. Under his guidance, Bangladesh team also played in the T20 series against Afghanistan in which they were whitewashed.
He was also the Technical director of Bangladesh Cricket team in the home tri-nation series where Bangladesh had a disastrous result. He was the manager of Bangladesh team in Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka.
He also performed the role of manager in Bangladesh’s World Cup mission. The BCB is yet to decide who will be the manager in Sri Lanka tour if Mahmud becomes the head coach.
“We are thinking about it [manager post] but this is not important. What is important is the head coach post,” Akram said.
