BCB gets green light from government only for 'short' tour of Pakistan

In a major setback to Pakistan’s aspirations of hosting Bangladesh for a Test series in their backyard, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed that they have got the permission to play only a short series in Pakistan. The BCB officials, on Sunday, held a meeting with Bangladesh government’s officials to take a final call on the tour of Pakistan. And the final outcome of the meeting was not at all promising for Pakistan cricket.

At a media briefing in Dhaka after the meeting, BCB chief Nazmul Hassan spoke about the issue. The BCB supremo made it clear that the Bangladesh government and the cricket board are on the same page. Hassan said that the government had told the board it could go ahead with a tour of Pakistan, but to keep it “short” due to the Iran-US tensions.

The comment from Hassan has effectively ended Pakistan’s hopes of hosting Bangladesh for the two-Test series. Bangladesh can now only play a T20I series in Pakistan and the BCB had taken the same line since December. A final decision on the tour will be taken after the BCB talks to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about its decision.

“We are clear cut, but let’s see how they react,” Hassan told the media as quoted by Espncricinfo. “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 to reschedule [of the Tests], not saying we won’t tour. This is the best thing we can offer to Pakistan.”

Bangladesh to play T20Is in Pakistan

While Bangladesh have made it clear that they would not play a Test series in Pakistan as of now, they were initially scheduled to play two Tests in the country. The proposed tour features three T20Is in Lahore, on January 23, 25 and 27, followed by two Tests, originally slated for Rawalpindi and Karachi. However, BCB is not at all willing to play Test matches in Pakistan.

Later, the BCB said it wanted to split the series, playing the T20Is in Pakistan and the Tests at a neutral venue. The BCB also offered to play one Test in Pakistan and the other in Bangladesh but PCB rejected the offer, stating that it was a home series for them. Pakistan recently hosted Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series but their chances of hosting Bangladesh look bleak as of now.

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