PCB wants test series first now
Final decision today
Sports Reporter, Dhaka
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan Papon said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has given a new proposal to the BCB showing their keen interest to play Test series, not Twenty 20 international series, first. Papon also said they will play three-match T20I series any time prior to the ICC World T20 this year. But BCB is yet to take any final decision in this regard. BCB president said they will take a decision regarding Bangladeshs tour for the ensuing bilateral series in Pakistan within Thursday (today).
They (Pakistan) gave a proposal Wednesday in which they said that they wanted to play Test matches at the moment, said Papon. They want to play three T20Is at any time prior to the ICC T20 World Cup. We will inform the PCB about their proposal Thursday, Papon told media at the reception of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Were running out of time. So, weve to make quick decisions. If we dont go there, then what is going to happen? This is the main concern for us. This is why we sat. We only discussed about the Test series Wednesday, he added.
Papon also said they have got the report from the government sources, which had travelled to Pakistan to check out the security arrangement plan of the Pakistan side. However, the BCB president said no place is safe in terms of security as anything can happen at any time at any place across the world.
We have got the report from the government agency as to what we were scheduled to get from them, Papon said. Then, there are some other discussions still pending. I think we could reach a conclusion regarding the tour within Thursday, Papon said.
In the question of security, its not possible to say it is a secure place. No place is safe in security issue. They gave their report on their security arrangement that is good. There is no way to deny it. I have seen it myself, he added.
The BCB boss said players coupled with coaches are reluctant to travel to Pakistan for longer period for which they are discussing about the possibility of rescheduling the Test series as its a part of the ICCs World Test Championship.
Talking about a probable solution, Papan said, Many of our coaching staff refused to go there. But our head coach agreed to tour Pakistan only for T20Is along with other players. Everyone wants short stay. Thats what we told them.
We havent taken any decision whether the T20Is will be excluded and there will be only one Test. We discussed all about it and hope to reach a conclusion Thursday. We havent finalised it yet.
Our approach towards the tour still remains the same. Since we havent toured Pakistan for long even none of the countries toured there, we agreed to play T20Is to observe the situation. If players get confidence and we find no problem touring there, then we will obviously go. This is exactly what we tried to convey as a message to them.
Asked about Bangladesh players NOC clearance for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL), Papan replied, What the players told me about their 35-day stay in Pakistan arent clear enough. There are different opinions. We cant draw any conclusion based merely on their opinions.
