Misbah-ul-Haq expresses disappointment at Bangladesh's decision of refusing to play Test matches in Pakistan

Pakistan celebrated its homecoming in Test cricket after an ordeal of ten long years with a comprehensive 263-run over the visiting Sri Lankans at the National Stadium in Karachi. This was the first time that a Test series was played on Pakistan soil since those heartwrenching terror-attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in March of 2009. In recent months, the Pakistan Cricket Board is making all the possible attempts at restoring cricket back in the country.

The Wasim Khan and Ehsan Mani-led PCB have been holding meetings with prominent cricket boards around the world to persuade them to send their teams to Pakistan in the future. And, following the successful staging of the Test series against Sri Lanka where even the visitors’ skipper Dimuth Karunaratne hailed the security arrangements and declared the terror-ravaged nation as a safe haven for cricket, the PCB is confident as well as adamant on playing their home series in Pakistan in the future.

But, it wouldn’t be that easy though to persuade the other cricketing bodies. And, the prime example of it was evident a few days ago when Bangladesh Cricket Board [BCB] refused to play the Test series in Pakistan. While the BCB has agreed to play the limited-overs International in Pakistan, they are wary of playing the Test series there and had requested the PCB for a neutral venue for the two-match series. Wasim Khan had come hard on BCB’s decision and now the current coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has had his say on the matter.

Misbah-ul-Haq slams BCB’s decision of refusing to play Tests in Pakistan

“It’s very important to have this (Test cricket) going on. It will be a big disappointment for Pakistan if they (Bangladesh) do not come. There is no excuse at this stage and making security a pretext is lame, because when international tours are happening, teams [are] coming and playing here, even you are agreeing to play T20 and refusing Test is something beyond my understanding,” Misbah was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.

Misbah feels that it [BCB’s decision of not playing the Tests in Pakistan] is just an “excuse” and if that happens, it will be a great injustice to Pakistan as they play such a few number of Test matches.

“I don’t see any reason. To me, it’s just an excuse and nothing else. It will be a great injustice to Pakistan because already [we are] playing less Test cricket and we want more Tests on a regular basis. If this (Test series) doesn’t happen, we will be playing our next series in England after a long gap. Then we can’t blame our players — like Azhar Ali returned back in form after a long span and then again he has to wait for another four months playing nothing. He will be disadvantaged. It will again feel like a debut on the next series. Our players need to play continuous cricket,” he added.