Bangladesh coach quits, Sri Lanka bound

Chandika Hathurusingha has resigned as the head coach of Bangladesh's national cricket team, amid reports he will take charge of the Sri Lankan team.

Hathurusingha, a former NSW Blues assistant coach who is Sri Lankan, tendered his resignation in a letter during Bangladesh's disastrous tour of South Africa last month, Bangladesh Cricket Board President Nazmul Hasan told reporters.

"As far as I remember, he submitted a letter to me in early October. He didn't give any specific reasons. He only said he wasn't interested anymore," Hasan told reporters in Dhaka.

"He is a professional coach. We will deal it professionally. We won't force him but will ask him about the reason," he said.

Sri Lankan newspaper Ceylon Today reported Thursday that Hathurusingha was on the verge of signing with Sri Lanka Cricket as the national team's head coach. Quoting unnamed sources, the newspaper said SLC and the coach had reached an agreement.

Hathurusingha is currently contracted with the BCB until the 2019 World Cup. Under his tenure, Bangladesh have made rapid strides in world cricket, beating England and Australia in Test matches at home in the past year, and reaching the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in England this year.

Since he replaced Australian Shane Jurgensen in 2014, Bangladesh have also reached the quarter-final of the World Cup in 2015 and won one-day international series against Pakistan, India and South Africa in the same year.

Hathurusingha, however, came under criticism during Bangladesh's recent tour of South Africa, where the team failed to register a single win.

His name was first discussed as a potential Sri Lanka coach in June after the resignation of South African Graham Ford. Ford stepped down that month halfway through a 45-month contract and just two weeks after the team's early exit from the Champions Trophy.

The team have had an interim coach since Ford stepped down, with Nic Pothas stepping up from his role as fielding coach to take the head coach role on an interim basis.

Hathurusingha played 26 Tests and 35 ODIs for Sri Lanka before becoming the country's assistant coach under Trevor Bayliss.

He then moved to Australia and landed a job as a coach of New South Wales before taking over the head coach position of Bangladesh.