Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Women’s Wing chairman Rafiqul Islam Babu has expressed anger over head coach Sarwar Imran’s comments following the Tigresses’ 20th Asian Games exit, saying the coach will have to explain his remarks after Bangladesh returned from Aichi-Nagoya without a medal.

Bangladesh suffered a 31-run defeat to Pakistan women in the bronze-medal match on Tuesday, ending their Asian Games campaign empty-handed.

Following the defeat, Sarwar said after the match: “We are playing a tournament, and you have bashed (size) the head coach and captain. So how can you expect anything good?”

The comments did not go down well with the women’s wing chair, who said coaches and captains naturally come under scrutiny when teams fail to deliver.

“Whether it is football or cricket, when a team fails to deliver the expected performance, it is normal for the coach and captain to be held responsible. Coaches are sacked, and captains are changed after poor performances in major tournaments. There is nothing new about that,” he told Daily Sun.

The green and red women had enjoyed their best-ever T20 World Cup campaign by beating Pakistan and the Netherlands, but subsequently failed to meet expectations at the Women’s Asia Cup and Asian Games.

The pressure on the team had already intensified before the Asian Games, when captain Nigar Sultana Joty emailed the BCB expressing her intention to step down as T20I captain. After the matter became public, Rafiqul said Joty’s decision had embarrassed him.

During the Games, the Women’s Wing chairman also indicated that changes were coming to the coaching set-up. He said Sarwar’s contract, which expires in October, would not be renewed and that former Bangladesh batting coach David Hemp had been selected as his replacement. He also hinted at a possible change in batting coach Nasiruddin Faruque.

Rafiqul questioned how quickly the team’s fortunes had changed after the T20 World Cup.

“After doing well in the T20 World Cup, was it even the same team at the Women’s Asia Cup and Asian Games?” he asked.

He said changes to the team management and coaching staff were being considered in the interests of the team.