Bangladesh national Cricket team's head coach Shane Jurgensen resigned via email yesterday. In the email he stated that he would quit following the ODI series against India in June. Jurgensen also clarified the reasons behind his resignation and said that some statements made by a few board directors regarding changing the coach upset him.
The chairman of the BCB Cricket Operations Akram Khan confirmed the news after Dhaka Tribune broke the story of Jurgensen’s resignation before the emergency meeting of the BCB yesterday.
“I got the letter just before the start of the meeting where I received his resignation letter but our board president was not present at the meeting. So we could not take any decision,” said Akram
When Akram was asked the reasons behind Jurgensen’s resignation, the former captain said some of the board directors gave statements to the media regarding a change in the head coach’s post which may have hurt the 38-year-old as he made an emotional decision.
“He might have seen in the media that some of the board directors are not in favor of the Australian to remain the head coach. This can be the reason of his decision but we never talked officially. It’s normal to raise these questions after a team performs badly. We faced the same difficulties when we used to play. But so far no decision has been made officially. We never expected to receive such thing,” he said.
However, Akram added that being in responsible positions, the directors should not have made such statement where only the board president can discuss the issues and take decisions.
Meanwhile, the current coaching staff may also feel insecure after the chairman of the Cricket Operations had meetings with Wasim Akram and Shane Warne apparently with a view to hiring them.
In the email, Jurgensen was critical of the current environment in the BCB with regard to his position in the team. Thus the 38-year-old decided to move on as he considered this the best thing to do for the team and his coaching career.
Jurgensen’s resignation came two days after he had showed concern in the media with some BCB directors seeking a new man with international experience to take charge of the team ahead of the World Cup 2015 as the repercussions after Bangladesh's woeful World T20 campaign still linger on.
Rumors of a change in the position of Bangladesh team's head coach began last month when BCB president Nazmul Hassan said he foresaw "many changes" in the national team. However, he was not specific.
The BCB boss made this statement the day after Bangladesh lost to the West Indies in the Super 10s of the World Twenty20. There were three further losses which fueled the notion that it would be the coaches who would have their contracts cut short.
"The situation is not ideal and I am considering my own position at the moment," Jurgensen said to the media two days ago.
"However, I feel I have been subject to this situation ever since I have been given the honor of being the head coach. Having not played Test cricket, I knew I had to prove myself as a team coach and success along with that was important,” he added.
"I have had to work extremely hard and adapt to the conditions and circumstances given to us at times. I would like to think that this has been a huge positivity for all players, support staffs and myself involved that we have had success despite the circumstances."
Jurgensen became full-time coach in February 2013 after doing the interim job quite successfully for one series against West Indies in 2012. He was given a two-year contract, till the 2015 World Cup alongside batting and fielding coach Corey Richards, trainer David Dwyer and physio Vibhav Singh.
His resignation is the second in the Bangladesh national dressing room following that of trainer David Dwyer. Dwyer stepped down from his position after 14 months on the job and asked for immediate release while Richard McInnes, the head coach of BCB National Academy, also resigned recently.
