The shake-up came on April 7 when the National Sports Council dissolved the board led by Aminul Islam Bulbul over election irregularities, appointing Tamim Iqbal to head an 11-member ad hoc committee.
Speaking ahead of the ODI series against New Zealand, Simmons was asked if the frequent leadership changes, having now worked under three different presidents, came as a surprise.
“Nothing in life surprises me anymore. And that’s not just about Bangladesh; it’s about life itself. I’ve been through enough to know that things happen every day. So I’m not surprised with anything.”
The coach stressed that preparations have continued smoothly despite the off-field developments.
“First of all, it doesn’t affect what we do, how we train, and it didn’t affect the camp that we had. It was planned and it was carried out,”
When asked about any possible psychological impact on the players, Simmons maintained that the squad remains fully focused.
“If you ask how it affects the players, you’ll have to ask the players because I can’t really see any psychological effect because they did all the work. They worked as hard as they usually do, and even harder some of them. So they’re still doing all that’s needed in preparation for this series.”
Simmons also confirmed that Tamim has already routinely engaged with the team since taking charge.
“Yes, we had a chat with him, the staff, and then he came down a couple of days ago during the game to the dressing room and had a chat with us.”
