DHAKA (Monitoring Desk): Little has changed following a BCB meeting on Sunday that was expected to throw up a final decision on Bangladesh’s proposed tour of Pakistan.
At a media briefing in Dhaka after the meeting, BCB chief Nazmul Hassan said the government had told the board it can go ahead with a tour of Pakistan but keep it “short” due to the Iran-US tensions.
This essentially means Bangladesh can play a T20I series but not Tests, which was the same line that the BCB had taken in December.
The BCB will now speak to the PCB about its decision. “We are clear cut, but let’s see how they react,” Hassan said. “As far as security is concerned, T20 is a better option. “They should be happy that we still want to go to play T20s. We just wanted rescheduling [of the Tests], not saying we won’t tour.”
“This is the best thing we can offer to Pakistan.” The BCB’s citation of rising tensions in the Middle East as a leading cause of their reticence for a longer tour would appear to rule out hosting the series in the UAE – Pakistan’s home for the bulk of their home commitments over the past decade – as well.
But Pakistan are adamant the series should be held within the country, so that may be a moot point anyway.
The PCB has, officially, not reacted to this development at all, reiterating they have yet to receive any official communication from the BCB. But ESPNcricinfo understands any offer that does not include playing the Test leg of the series in Pakistan is unlikely to be acceptable to the PCB.
As such, today’s statement from the BCB, which appears more partial to the T20 leg of the series rather than the Tests may fall well short of any common ground the two boards will be hoping to establish.
