Bangladesh Tour could be avoided by other teams: Ehsan Mani

Former ICC president Ehsan Mani fears that Bangladesh cricket could face the same problems Pakistan cricket has been facing for the last few years because of the terrorist attacks.

At least 20 foreigners were killed when terrorists attacked an upscale cafe in Dhaka this week. And this caused doubts on England touring Bangladesh later this year.

“After what happened in Dhaka I fear that like Pakistan the Bangladesh board will also find it difficult to convince teams to tour their country,” Mani said in an interview.

“I am concerned that Bangladesh cricket might also be hit hard by terrorism like Pakistan cricket has suffered in the last few years,” Mani said.

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“At a time when foreigners were killed in the attack, it will be difficult for Bangladesh to convince England to play the series.”

“Don’t forget West Indies under-19 team returned home from Bangladesh due to security concerns some years back while Australia also pulled out of the ICC Youth World Cup this year,” he added.

He said that whenever the arch-rivals India and Pakistan plays against each other in an ICC event, that bring high revenues for the boards.

He also added a valuable point that if Bangladesh succeeded in convincing teams to play in their country, then it raises questions about the abilities of the Pakistan Cricket Board to handle the situation. “Yes, it would raise serious questions about how the PCB has handled the situation and why it couldn’t get a foreign team to visit Pakistan.”

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He also lashed out on PCB for requesting to ICC for some special funds for Pakistan cricket to offset revenue losses suffered due to international teams not touring the country.

“It is shameful what the PCB has done… it is very disappointing. Instead of going to the ICC with a begging bowl the PCB should curtail and control its expenses,” he said.

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“If the PCB is indeed facing a financial crisis it can take a number of administrative steps to cope with the situation. They are nearly 1000 employees on the board is there need for this. Expenses must be curtailed,” he advised.