KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan is due to leave for Dhaka in a couple of days to watch the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh which begins on Wednesday.

During his stay in Bangladesh, the PCB chief would also be holding meetings with officials of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). “I want to motivate the team ahead of the second Test,” he said in a statement.

Pakistan suffered a stunning 3-0 whitewash against Bangladesh in the ODI series as well as a comprehensive defeat in the one-off T20 clash that followed.

The Bangladesh team also pulled off an improbable draw in the first Test played in Khulna last week and it is believed that the Pakistan team is a bit low on confidence after the outcome of the matches so far. PCB chief’s presence in Dhaka for the second Test is likely to boost the players’ morale.

Meanwhile, Shaharyar is likely to fly off to Kolkata from Dhaka to meet Jagmohan Dalmiya, the chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

During his meeting with the BCCI chief, Shaharyar is expected to discuss the staging of Pakistan’s proposed home series against arch-rivals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in December this year.

The BCCI officials have expressed their keenness to play the series against Pakistan subject to clearance from the Indian government.

Pakistan is expected to play two Test matches, five One-day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals against India.

The two old adversaries have not figured in a bilateral series since 2007 following a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2015

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