Former Bangladesh captain Mashrafe bin Mortaza has criticized national team head coach Russell Domingo.
The veteran right-arm pacer while speaking to the media at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium Thursday claimed that cricketers in the national team have complaints against Domingo.
Mashrafe, also a member of Bangladesh National Parliament, also said the current situation in the dressing room is not healthy.
The statement from the most successful Bangladesh ODI skipper came a day before Bangladesh meet hosts South Africa in the first match of the three-ODI series at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
Mashrafe’s statement against Domingo has added fuel to the fire after claims that there are issues between national team cricketers, particularly the seniors, and the South African coach.
The national team seniors Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah have never spoken on record against Domingo though.
“I don’t know the work he [Domingo] is doing. Of course, it is his credit when the team does well. I have not worked with him much. Played only three games under him. But he has to take responsibility of the defeats as well. We have lost a lot of matches here [in Mirpur] which we should have won. And there are matches which we won out of the blue, like the Test in New Zealand,” said Mashrafe in the sidelines of practice session with Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League side Legends of Rupganj.
Mashrafe has missed the first round of the ongoing Dhaka League due to back injury and is working his way to get back to the field.
“I strongly believe his failures are more than the successes. Bangladesh team are not in the stage to do experiments. The Bangladesh supporters, the media and the Bangladesh Cricket Board now want to see success. It is not a place for a new coach to come and do experiments. The ODI team have performed well for around six to seven years but that has been lost now,” said Mashrafe.
“The most important thing is that the players have complaints against him [Domingo]. You should always have a happy dressing room. I don’t think that place has a good environment at the moment. Domingo does not have big success with Bangladesh team. Even Steve Rhodes [former Bangladesh coach] had a better success with the team but he was made to leave. It is fine if BCB is happy with him [Domingo]. It is for the board to decide,” he added.
Former South Africa cricketer Domingo first met BCB in August 2019 for an interview for the position of BCB High-Performance Unit head coach.
But the BCB rather thought Domingo deserves to handle the national team and handed him the charge for a monthly salary of around $15,000 which currently stands at some $25,000 – more than Tk21 lakhs per month.
Bangladesh have till date played 72 games across all formats under Domingo, winning 34 and losing 37.
They have won three Tests in 14 attempts, 13 ODIs in 18 matches and 18 T20Is in 40 games.
