BCB chief wants Zim Test after World T20

DHAKA. — Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan has said that the cricket operations committee-proposed solitary Bangladesh-Zimbabwe Test in January is unlikely to take place. Instead, he has suggested that the one-off Test could take place after the World T20, in May or June. Hassan, who underlined the challenges of playing two different formats in the span of a few weeks, said he wanted to consult the Bangladesh players and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha about the matter before discussing it with the board.

“Basically the cricket operations (committee) told me that they want the team to play both Test and T20s (against Zimbabwe in January),” Hassan said on Friday. “But the problem is they (BCB’s cricket operations) want the T20 first and then the Test match; so to play a Test before the Asia Cup T20 won’t be possible. There’s problem with the grounds too, since the Under-19 World Cup will be ongoing.”

The BCB’s cricket operations committee had said that they were mindful of venue shortages and had earmarked Khulna (where Under-19 World Cup matches will take place) and Sylhet (where five U-19 World Cup matches will be held in two stadiums) when they proposed a series comprising one Test and three T20s.

Hassan is worried about the lack of time to accommodate such a schedule as well. “Zimbabwe won’t be arriving before January 14 (after finishing their away series against Afghanistan). They have responded to the Test proposal by saying that they want to play only T20s. They have to send two separate teams for Test and T20s, like many nations. We more or less have the same team. If they can’t come before January 14, the problem will be quite big.”

Another hindrance to the proposed one-off Test could be a lack of front-line personnel for Bangladesh. Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim Iqbal are set to take part in the Pakistan Super League from February 4 and Hassan said it was “absurd” to even think of playing a five-day game without them with ICC rankings on the line.

“We want to play T20s but Tamim, Shakib and Mushfiqur will be playing in the Pakistan League at the same time.” — Cricinfo.