Bangladesh will propose Zimbabwe to play a Test and three Twenty20 Internationals during
the upcoming home series in January, the cricket operations committee of the Bangladesh
Cricket Board decided on Wednesday. Zimbabwe were originally scheduled to play two Test matches during the series, but the visitors had proposed to play five Twenty20 Internationals instead of any Test as part of
their preparation for the ICC World Twenty20. BCB looked to be positive initially as the national team management, especially coach
Chandika Hathurusinghe, preferred only Twenty20 Internationals before the global event.
The BCB had all but decided to shelve the Test matches following Hathurusinghe’s
prescription, but the news was circulated and that created a strong debate as Bangladesh
always craved for more Tests.
In the face of strong criticism from different corners, BCB’s cricket operations committee
decided to play it safe by proposing a Test and three Twenty20s in its Wednesday’s
meeting.
‘It’s not always necessary to play only T20s to prepare for ICC World Twenty20,’ cricket
operations chief Naimur Rahman told New Age after the meeting. ‘Many other countries are
now playing Test matches, so I don’t think it should be a problem for us.
‘Zimbabwe owed three Tests to us. We have decided to play one in January and two away in
July-August. We are now waiting to see their response,’ he said.
If Zimbabwe agreed to BCB’s proposal they are expected to arrive either on January 11 or
12 after completing their other international commitments by January 10.
Currently Zimbabwe are scheduled to play five one-day internationals and two Twenty20
internationals against Afghanistan from December 25 to January 10.
BCB plans to host Zimbabwe in Khulna and Sylhet and complete it by January 25 before it
concentrate on ICC Under-19 World Cup, beginning two days later.
During the meeting BCB’s cricket operation decided to continue with national chief
selector Faruk Ahmed, who will finish his current tenure on December 31.
‘At the moment we want him with us until the next board meeting as we will play some big
tournaments. In the next board meeting his fate will be decided,’ said Naimur.
The cricket operations committee also recommended a 25 per cent pay hike for the 15
contracted national cricketers.
-With New Age input
