THE Bangladesh cricket team’s tour of Pakistan, scheduled to commence from Jan 15, is now facing uncertainty after their cricket board, the BCB, offered to play just three T20s in Pakistan while asking for the two-Test series to be shifted to a neutral venue.

This recent shift in Bangladesh’s stance has clearly upset the Pakistan Cricket Board which has now asked the BCB to explain the reasons for its reluctance to fulfil its obligation under the International Cricket Council’s Future Tours Programme.

The PCB has every right to ask Bangladesh about its non-committal approach, especially after Test cricket returned to Pakistan this month when a full-strength team from Sri Lanka played two Tests in the country, ending a decade-long barren stretch for Pakistan.

The visitors commended the PCB and praised the government for making excellent security arrangements. The incident-free series against Sri Lanka is already beginning to have its impact, with several international teams, including South Africa, England and Australia, now in talks with the PCB for future tours.

The BCB’s stance is thus odd, especially considering that Bangladesh’s under-16 team visited Rawalpindi early this year while its women’s squad also played matches in Lahore following a high-powered visit by a security delegation to Pakistan. The BCB’s chief executive was recently quoted as saying that Bangladesh has to take into account the views of its players and members of team management prior to giving the go-ahead for a Test series.

But the fact is that the security situation has improved after Pakistan’s sustained crackdown on militants, and as the Sri Lankan tour showed, extra care has been taken to ensure the safety of international players. The PCB is still in negotiations with the BCB and is hopeful of a positive outcome.

Besides, the series is also part of the ICC World Test Championship, so the international board is a stakeholder and should make efforts to convince Bangladesh to fulfil its commitment which will be a boost for the game’s future in the region.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2019