The Bangladesh Cricket Board has parted ways with Hashan Tillakaratne. The Board appointed Imran Sarwar as the head coach of their senior women’s team. Sarwar, a veteran coach, was most recently with the Bangladesh Women’s U-19 team in the U-19 World Cup held in Malaysia. He was the men’s team’s head coach during their inaugural Test 2000.
Sarwar replaces Sri Lankan Tillakaratne, who did his job diligently. However, Bangladesh is preparing for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers 2025 and aiming for stability. Sarwar will be expected to do that and contribute to strategic and tactical sides. He is renowned throughout the country for his ability to shape talented cricketers and make them go through the grind.
His appointment as the new women’s team head coach was confirmed by BCB chief Faruque Ahmed.
“We have decided to appoint Imran (Sarwar) as our national women’s team head coach after the post went vacant following Hashan’s departure. When I took over, I promised to try my level best to provide a platform for local coaches in the national setup. The appointment of Imran is part of that pledge. If we don’t give them the responsibility, how can we know whether they are performing or not,” Faruque said.
This move can be judged s one that promotes local coaches to the top echelons. Yet, Bangladesh will be worried that they will not automatically qualify for the World Cup later this year. They finished level with New Zealand with 21 points in the ICC Women’s Championship standings. However, the White Ferns secured a direct entry into the tournament as they had nine wins, which is more compared to Bangladesh’s eight.
Bangladesh will have to go through the rigmarole of playing in the qualifiers. This is where Imran’s personnel management skills will be tested to the core. West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland, Scotland, and Thailand will compete alongside Bangladesh in the qualifying tournament. India, Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand have already made it. Only two more teams will be added to the main draw from the qualifiers, and Bangladesh will aim to be on that list. The tournament will take place in India later this year.
