Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan has restated that Bangladesh will visit Pakistan only if the International Cricket Council (ICC) agrees to send officials to conduct the matches of the tour. Nazmul said this after meeting the new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Shahryar Khan, in Dhaka last Monday.
Nazmul, who was not scheduled to meet the PCB boss due to his tour of Paris, offered Bangladeshi stadiums as alternative venues for Pakistan’s home games. Pakistan currently play their home games at neutral venues due to security reason.s
Following the meeting, Nazmul informed the media that they will only send the national side to Pakistan if the ICC concurs to send match officials. “We maintained that if the ICC do not send match officials, we will not send the team,” said Nazmul on Monday. “I have clarified this from the start.
“As we spoke for very little time, we discussed the possibility of considering Bangladesh as a neutral venue, which will be a cheaper option for them. It will improve our relationship. We have beautiful stadiums - all ICC-approved - so Bangladesh can be considered as an option,” Nazmul added.
Shahryar, meanwhile, said school and second-string teams from Bangladesh can tour Pakistan before the national side’s visit in the future.
“I have had a very positive and fruitful exchange with the BCB president and his colleagues,” said Shahryar. “I endorse entirely what he (Nazmul) has said. I feel we could do with schoolboys, academy, university, women’s and A teams [touring Pakistan]. We can invite any one or more of these teams to Pakistan,” said Shahryar.
Shahryar added that Bangladesh should not the national side to Pakistan if they feel unsafe.
“We will not take you to Peshawar if we find it is not good there. If it is not perfect in Karachi, we will not take you there too. But there are many other cities. We have a superb new stadium. We will take you there, where I am sure they will be safe and warmly welcomed,” said Shahryar.
Shaharyar concluded by saying some Associate nations participating in the 2015 ICC World Cup had expressed interest in touring Pakistan. “I won’t name them but there are some important Associate countries, who are playing in the World Cup, who told us they are ready to come to Pakistan. It is a step-by-step process, we are hoping Bangladesh will be one of the early ones who will break the ice. We hope to get it [clearance from ICC] with the help of our Asian brothers.”