Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon sounded pessimistic regarding Tigers upcoming three-match Test series tour in Sri Lanka. He said it is not possible to tour the island nation for Test Championship matches if Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) do not allow Bangladesh a shorter quarantine period and other facilities that have been sought earlier.
The BCB chief held an emergency meeting at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. He later told the media that it was not possible for BCB to accept the unusual terms and conditions set by SLC for the Lankan tour. Nazmul also said that their stance regarding this matter has been informed to the Sri Lanka Cricket Board.
The BCB wanted a seven-day quarantine period for the cricketers during the tour. BCB also wanted players to continue practice. However, on behalf of the Sri Lankan Ministry of Sports, the country's board said that they have to stay in quarantine for 14 days and no practice sessions can be done in between.
“The terms and conditions Sri Lanka sent us are not possible to follow. So, we think this series is not possible considering the current circumstances. We told them about our stance,” Papon told the media.
Papon added, “The rules they have laid down are rare in history. It is impossible to play Test championship under these conditions. This is the news I want to give them. This is our first message. Let's wait and see what happens. If they want to discuss, then we will see what restrictions can be relaxed and then we can discuss those things. So, currently it is not possible to accept the terms and conditions and we let it know to them. We are expecting quick reply after which we will take final decision regarding the tour.”
“What we’ve thought earlier is very different from the current scenario and we think their arrangements are different from other countries who have already started playing international cricket,” the BCB chief said.
The BCB chief said earlier they chose Sri Lanka because of the low number of corona cases.
“The last time I spoke to you, I said the tour of Sri Lanka was safe at that time. The reason behind thinking this was that they have less number of corona patients. They also started domestic cricket there.”
“Because of the pandemic situation, it’s hard to practice in our own country. That's why we thought it would be safe our players and coaches to go there and practice. So, we agreed for the series.”
However, discussions with the Sri Lankan board stalled because of some perplexed conditions set by SLC.
Papon said the conditions imposed by the Lankans were quite unusual, “In other countries players have to quarantine for 7 days but the players can at least practice among themselves. They can use the gymnasium too. From the letter I got from SLC on Sunday, said that no one will be able to leave the hotel room for 14 days. You can't even go out to eat.”
Bangladesh were scheduled to tour Sri Lanka later this month to play a three-Test series as part of the world Test Championship. A large group including cricketers from the national team and HP team are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka together.
BCB is now planning to start domestic cricket. Papon said the BCB is working to bring cricket back to the field.
“We don’t know if we can manage an international team to play in Bangladesh. But we are very hopeful of bringing the game back in the field. We may start domestic cricket soon,” he said.
