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Bangladesh cricket Board turn down invitation to tour Pakistan
Bangladesh Cricket Board, citing security arrangements still inadequate, refused to accept invite for a two-match T20I series in Pakistan
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has turned down an invitation from their Pakistan counterpart for a tour before July this year.
In an attempt to bring international cricket back to the country, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) invited Bangladesh for a two-match T20I series to take place later this year.
Pakistan will tour Bangladesh in July and hoped to play host before their visit. PCB has also asked the Bangladesh board to share part of the profits generated from their visit towards compensation for repeatedly refusing to tour their nation for six years.
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The PCB had hosted the Pakistan Super League final in Lahore earlier this month with a view to proving that the country could safely host cricket matches. A representative of the BCB attended the final in Lahore on March 5.
However, citing that security arrangements are still inadequate, the BCB has turned down the invite for the tour.
“We had a BCB security team visit Pakistan during the final of the PSL T20 last month. The reports were not satisfactory enough due to which we had to pull back. Even the ICC had a fact finding team visit the country and did not see any development as of yet,” BCB’s media and communications committee chairman Jalal Younus was quoted as saying by Dhaka Tribune.
ICC security advisor Sean Norris was present at the PSL final to assess the situation and security arrangements. He is expected to submit a report at the ICC board meeting in April.
Bangladesh have said that they are willing to play the series at a neutral venue. However, PCB do not consider it financially viable to host teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in UAE, which has been adopted for their home matches since the 2009 Lahore attacks on the Sri Lanka team.
Bangladesh are now the fourth team in two years to turn down invitations to tour Pakistan; the others were West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe were the first nation to visit Pakistan after the attacks when they played a three-match ODI series and two-match T20I series in 2015.
