Published 17:47 IST, December 27th 2019
Bangladesh says Pakistan 'unsafe even for T20s', Javed Miandad squeaks counter to ICC
Former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad made an absurd claim as he requested ICC members to stop touring India as he claimed it was 'unsafe' for cricket
Former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad made an absurd claim as he requested ICC members to stop touring India as he claimed it was 'unsafe' for cricket and sought the apex body's intervention in the issue. Javed Miandad's weird claim comes hours after Bangladesh Cricket Board chief Najmul Hussain said that Pakistan was not even safe for T20s to take place. He expressed that some stars from Bangladesh were not comfortable traveling to Pakistan.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been making numerous attempts to draw more countries to play cricket in Pakistan after the return of international cricket to the country after a long gap of ten years. With the success of Sri Lanka's tour, Pakistan hoped that other countries too would join the bandwagon but was proved wrong when Bangladesh expressed inconvenience in playing in Pakistan and demanded a neutral venue.
Javed Miandad squeaks counter to ICC
As quoted by a Pakistan media portal, Javed Miandad has requested the ICC to intervene and has called for all the countries to stop touring India, claiming that it was unsafe. PCB chairman Ehsan Mani had made the same claim earlier and had said that Pakistan had 'proved' that it was a safe haven with the successful tour of Sri Lanka without any security lapses. Unable to find an answer for the problems of his own country, Javed Miandad now seeks ICC's intervention to stop other teams from visiting India.
Star players unwilling to play T20Is in Pakistan: BCB President
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hasan on Thursday said that they are trying to form a team for the Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Pakistan after several of their star players showed reluctance to tour Pakistan even to play in the shortest format. The board has been contemplating splitting the Test and Twenty20 International (T20I) series between the two countries scheduled to take place in Pakistan early next year. Bangladesh are pretty much considering what Sri Lanka did earlier this year for their tour of Pakistan, for which they first travelled for the ODIs and T20Is, returned home and then came back for playing just 2 Test matches.
However, the latest statement from the BCB President to the media in Dhaka has put the T20I series in doubt as well. Hasan said to a leading media network that they had already communicated to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that they were trying to send a team for the T20s only if the players are comfortable with the idea. The BCB President added that they were awaiting clearances from their government as well as security agencies.
Hasan went on to explain the reason behind Bangladesh players and coaching staff’s unwillingness to tour Pakistan. He said that many of the coaching staff had already informed the board much earlier that they didn’t want to go. Some of them said that they wanted to go but only for a short period while most of the foreign staff are yet not convinced about safety there.
Updated 19:58 IST, December 27th 2019