BCB says national team won’t tour Pakistan, mulls options

Pakistan is very keen to invite any team over from Bangladesh but BCB President Nazmul Hassan has ruled out the national team from the picture as they consider other choices.

The board chiefs of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka sat in a discussion of the Asian Cricket Council at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Sunday.

Hassan spoke to reporters from Bangladesh after the meeting.

“Pakistan will visit [Bangladesh] for a complete tour in July, no uncertainty regarding the series. They always want us to visit,” the chief of Bangladesh Cricket Board said.

“But there is no chance of sending the national team. We are thinking about what we can do instead.”

PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan has said that the BCB has agreed to send Bangladesh's high-performance side to Pakistan.

"Bangladesh is agreeable to send its high-performance team to Pakistan, which is a big step," Cricinfo quoted Shaharyar as saying.

"They will play in Pakistan against our high-performance team. As regards to the national team, they are not yet ready to come to Pakistan.”

Shaharyar, who confirmed that Pakistan will tour Bangladesh in July-August this year.

“We could play either in Bangladesh or in a third country, which is acceptable to both sides, or we could even do it in Sri Lanka.”

After the 2009 attack on the bus carrying Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, no men’s national teams, barring Zimbabwe, have played in Pakistan, who have hosted their bilateral series at the United Arab Emirates since then.

The Tigers last played a series against Pakistan away from home in 2008.