Bangladesh A to tour Sri Lanka this year, series likely in November

The Bangladesh A side will tour Sri Lanka this year. It has also been stated that the longer version of the game will get priority. However, the complete schedule has not yet been finalized at the time of writing.

The Chairman of the Bangladesh cricket operations committee, Akram Raza stated that Bangladesh has been trying to arrange a series against Sri Lanka for almost five months. He also confirmed that Sri Lanka A will take on Bangladesh A most likely in November this year.

Raza added that the Bangladesh A team has been a topic of misconception for the media. Raza even opined that the Bangladesh A side last played in Sri Lanka in October 2019, and the pandemic has not helped matters either.

“We had been trying to arrange a series with Sri Lanka in the past four-five months. They have confirmed a November slot to us. If we have space to play, we will tour. Longer version will get priority, so it’s a chance for players outside the national team to play against a quality side.

This (A team doesn’t play enough) is a huge misconception to you journalists. Nothing has been going on properly since the pandemic. Let alone the A Team. Our A Team last played a series in Sri Lanka in October 2019. The pandemic situation isn’t letting us to work on U-19, Academy or High-Performance Unit,” said Raza as quoted by Bdcrictime.

We usually field A Team against touring sides: Akram Raza

Akram Raza also stated that the Bangladesh A side has played 21 series in the last decade, and two series could not be arranged due to the coronavirus. He concluded by stating that the Bangladesh A team generally plays tour matches against international touring sides.

“A Team has played 21 series in the last 8-9 years – 8 at home and 13 away. We couldn’t arrange two series for coronavirus. We have played around 120 matches, 45 longer version. 75 limited overs.

I feel this is enough. You should also know that the A teams participate in the ACC Emerging Asia Cup. This also didn’t happen for pandemic. We usually field A team against touring sides. But we couldn’t do it against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Otherwise, we could’ve played more,” concluded Raza.