Bangladesh may host Pakistan in December

Series may take place after last year’s cancellation.

LAHORE: The Bangladesh Cricket Board has played down reports of a strained relationship with the Pakistan Cricket Board, insisting that the proposed bilateral series in December is to make up for the abandoned series last August.

It has been reported that a tense relationship between the two boards has forced no series to take place since 2008 - when Bangladesh visited Pakistan - with alleged reasons including hosting of the 2011 World Cup matches in Pakistan.

“The two boards have worked closely together to schedule a visit by Pakistan in December which is when both teams will be free from other commitments,” Rabeed Imam, a BCB official, told The Express Tribune.

The BCB has opted not to let past differences ruin matters further as both boards have seemed to remove the misunderstanding when voting against the ICC amendments over nominating the next vice-President.

“The proposed tour by Pakistan at the end of the year is part of the FTP tour originally scheduled for last August and later moved to 2011-12,” added Imam. “The BCB and the PCB have always been in a cordial and healthy relationship.

“You may recall that Bangladesh toured Pakistan in 2008 for five One-Day Internationals (ODIs) when other team weren’t touring and we returned for the Asia Cup later that year as well.

“Bangladesh is set to host West Indies from October to November this year but have an extensive window to host Pakistan after than until March next year when we are supposed to host the Asia Cup,” said Imam. “With December being the only month when Pakistan could play us, a series may be finalised for that time but the schedule is yet to be finalised.

“The tour may comprise two Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20 but that’s all to be confirmed.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th,  2011.