Bangladesh Cricket Board has confirmed the appointment of Chandika Hathurusingha as the national team head coach.
The appointment of the former Sri Lankan batsman has come on the back of heavy media speculation, and after confirmation from Cricket New South Wales that he had left the position of assistant coach with the side.
Hathurusingha is all set for his second spell with the Bangladesh team.
The 54-year old has agreed a two-year term with the BCB which starts from February 2023.
Hathurusingha replaced Russell Domingo who at the time of his resignation last month was the Test and ODI coach.
Return of Hathurusingha also meant the BCB could not reach a common ground with Sridharan Sriram, who worked as a technical consultant last year during the Twenty20 World Cup, and had been in talks with the board about continuing in that role, something the BCB said it wanted too.
“It's an honor to have been given this opportunity to coach the Bangladesh national team once again. I really loved the warmth of the people and the culture of Bangladesh whenever I have been there. I'm looking forward to working with the players once again and enjoy their successes,” said Hathurusingha on the prospects of returning to Bangladesh cricket.
Hathurusingha was with the Bangladesh team from 2014 to 2017, with the famous ODI-winning streak at home starting under his guidance as the team head coach.
Some of the highlights of Hathurusingha's previous tenure include first ODI series victories over Pakistan, India and South Africa, a maiden quarter-final appearance in a World Cup (2015) and maiden Test wins against England, Australia and Sri Lanka.
He however had an absurd departure after the South Africa tour in 2017, before returning to Bangladesh with the Sri Lanka team as head coach a few months later.
The BCB has, in the past, said it wanted a coach like Hathurusingha, known to be stern and aggressive, and after his departure, both Steve Rhodes (2018 to 2019) and Domingo (2019 to 2022) were thought of as soft by the BCB.