Bangladesh’s One-Day International captain – Mashrafe Mortaza, on Thursday, said that the presence of their former head coach Chandika Hathurusingha in the Sri Lankan camp will not affect them, as the Tigers have moved on from him.
Currently, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are in Bangladesh for a Tri-nation series, and the first match of series won by the hosts, while Zimbabwe won the second match against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. Now, the Tigers all set to face Hathurusingha’s Lanka today at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka in the third match of the series, and Mortaza said former Coach’s presence does not matter for the hosts.
According to a report in The Daily Star, Mashrafe Mortaza told reporters ahead of the third ODI, “In international cricket, it is normal for a coach to face off against their former players. We have moved on. When Hathurusingha left, we forgot all of his plans. There is no opportunity to think about him anymore cause we are trying to adjust to the ideas of our current coaches.”
He further added, “To be honest it does not matter. At the back of the mind, winning is all that remains. There is nothing else to think apart from winning the match. Ultimately if you think too much, pressure is bound to creep in. Everyone is thinking of playing against a team rather than thinking about an individual. At the back of our mind it is about playing and winning the game and discussions [regarding Hathurusingha] don’t matter. Plus if you think about this things, ultimately it brings on added pressure.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan batting coach – Thilan Samaraweera doesn't think there is any advantage of Hathurusingha's presence in their camp, as they have lost their opening encounter of the tri-series to Zimbabwe by 12 runs, and now they need to win today’s fixture to stay alive in the series.
As per Cricbuzz, Samaraweera told reporters in Dhaka, “I don't think there is any advantage because in world cricket I do not think there are any secrets now. Players are playing franchise cricket and share dressing room. I do not think Bangladesh is playing against Hathurusingha, they are playing against Sri Lanka team. I do not think those things will really matter.”
Mortaza also said that they are looking to register their second win in the Tri-series by playing the Zimbabwean brand of cricket while facing Sri Lanka today.
He concluded by saying, "We have to play the Zimbabwean brand of cricket that they displayed yesterday. It is not like Zimbabwe won without playing good cricket. Sri Lanka can come up with similar brand of cricket so we must be ready to tackle that situation. In a tri-nation series, keeping the tempo in four matches is difficult because you can go wayward in one or two matches and so we must remain focused.”
