With the Bangladesh Cricket Board still working on striking a balance in its coaching staff following the sudden departure of head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, the Sri Lankan has already warned of invading the Tigers den after taking over the job for his home country.
"We might win our next tour, but then again we might have more challenges in future matches. It's imperative that we look at the bigger picture," Hathurusingha told reporters while referring to his first assignment as Lanka coach against Bangladesh next month when they will also be involved in a tri-nation one-day series apart from two Tests and as many T20Is against the hosts.
Under Hathurusingha's stewardship Bangladesh made big strides on the one-day and Test fronts over the past two and a half years, winning ODI series against Pakistan, India and South Africa at home, making the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal, 2016 Asia Cup final and the 2017 Champions Trophy semifinal. Bangladesh have also won their first-ever Tests against England and Australia at home during this period.
Hathurusingha's in-depth knowledge about Bangladesh cricketers and the wickets here will certainly come in handy for the Lankans although they are struggling at the moment both home and away.
Meanwhile, the BCB is apparently taking a cautious approach to fill in the void of Hathurusingha, who tendered his resignation during Bangladesh's tour of South Africa.
The Board has appointed former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud, who acted as manager of the nation team during Hathurusingha's tenure, as technical director for the home series against Sri Lanka and also the tri-series that involves Zimbabwe.
While talking to the reporters on Wednesday BCB president Nazmul Hassan also said that the board is at an advanced stage of talks with Gary Kirsten for a wide-ranging consultancy role, and days away from signing a new batting consultant for the senior side.
Hassan said that the new batting consultant appointment could be made as early as this week. Another former South Africa batsman in Neil McKenzie is reportedly a front-runner in the role, although the BCB was previously in talks with Grant Flower and Hashan Tillakaratne as well.
It was learnt that Shakib Al Hasan, who has recently been made Test captain replacing Mushfiqur Rahim, has strongly vouched for McKenzie as a batting consultant.
