Pakistan tour of Bangladesh called off

After months of discussions, Pakistan finally called off their tour of Bangladesh. They were scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and a T20 in Bangladesh in July and August. Bangladesh refused to tour to Pakistan citing security concerns.

They have not toured the neighbouring country for a full tour since 2003 though they did play a 5-match series, in which they were whitewashed by the home side, back in 2008. Post the terror attack in Lahore on the Sri Lankan team in 2009, Bangladesh along with Ireland, Sri Lanka and West Indies firmly stood in their stance of not touring the country.

They toured Bangladesh in 2011 and played 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and a T20. They went on an exact same tour again in 2015 which Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, termed ‘a technically home series’ for Pakistan. Shaharyar didn’t like the idea of touring Bangladesh for a third consecutive time.

“We had spoken about the possibility of hosting them [Bangladesh in Pakistan] this year,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan told ESPNcricinfo. “Pakistan have now toured Bangladesh twice without them reciprocating, and we feel we cannot tour Bangladesh for the third straight time. Therefore, we have decided to postpone the tour, and will explore another window in the next year or so.”

The decision to not go ahead with the tour was reportedly mutual, though things in the past have turned sour between the two boards. In the last series in 2015, the Pakistani board had reportedly taken $325,000 out of the revenue saying that it was technically a home series for them. On this occasion, BCB had rejected revenue sharing possibilities.

Bangladesh were open to playing at neutral venues but Pakistan didn’t find it feasible to host Bangladesh in the UAE as it is very expensive to hold a series at their adopted home. Talks on hosting the series in Sri Lanka surfaced but no conclusion was made.

The efforts of bringing international cricket back in the country are in full swing. After successfully holding the PSL final at Lahore, the PCB is now planning to invite a team of international cricketers to play a T20 series in September.