PCB declines Bangladesh's proposal to play a Test in Dhaka
Bangladesh's upcoming tour of Pakistan this month is still uncertain. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has agreed to send the side to Pakistan, however, it wants the second Test of the two-match series to be held in Dhaka. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has declined the proposal. The two-match series is part of the ICC World Test Championship. Here's more.
Two-Test series part of Pakistan's World Championship schedule
A PCB official said that the board rejected the proposal, making it clear that the two Tests were part of Pakistan's home series in the ICC World Test Championship and must be played there. "It is strange that the BCB wants Pakistan to play a Test in Bangladesh in return," the official told PTI.
BCB doesn't want Tests to be played in Pakistan
The Bangladeshi cricket team is due to be in Pakistan from January 18. They are set to play two Tests and three T20Is but the tour is still uncertain. The BCB officials said that they will just play the T20Is there and not the Tests.
BCB wants to assess security situation before making a decision
Bangladesh want to play three T20Is ahead of the Test series. They want to decide after assessing the security situation whether to play the Test series or not. However, the PCB has ruled out hosting the Test matches at a neutral venue. "Privately the proposal to have one Test in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh has been floated but rejected," the PCB official said.
Last month, Test cricket had returned to Pakistan
Last month, Test cricket returned to Pakistan with Sri Lanka playing a two-match series. The series was a part of the World Test Championship. Pakistan hosted a Test series for the first time in more than a decade. This was after an attack on the Lanka team bus in 2009 an incident that left eight people dead and a number of team members injured.
BCB should stop making excuses and go ahead: Our take
Prior to the Test series last month, Pakistan had also hosted Lanka for three ODIs and T20Is in September-October. All these series went well and there were no half measures in terms of security measures. Therefore, Bangladesh should agree to tour Pakistan and play the Test series as scheduled. The demands forwarded by the BCB are baseless and the ICC should intervene here.
