Bangladesh Cricket Board president AHM Mustafa Kamal sprung a big surprise on Sunday when he unilaterally decided to send the national cricket team to Pakistan for a short trip later this month.
No BCB officials in Dhaka had been aware of such a big decision and were surprised to know it from international media, who came across the news first through a joint
statement issued by Pakistan and Bangladesh boards.
The statement, signed by Kamal and his counterpart Zaka Ashraf, was issued from Lahore, leaving BCB officials in Dhaka in complete darkness. Though it is a joint
statement which bore the logos of both BCB and the PCB it has never been released from Dhaka.
‘As it is a very sensitive issue it has been dealt by high officials. BCB president was personally dealing it and maybe he has taken the decision at his own
discretion. We had no discussion about it,’ said Jalal Yunus, the chairman of BCB’s media committee.
Enayet Hossain Siraj, the chairman of BCB’s cricket operations committee was equally surprised. ‘I had no idea if it was discussed in the meeting as I was not present.
Maybe the president has got some ideas about it,’ he said.
The joint statement has not only confirmed the tour, but also provided the date and venues where Bangladesh’s matches will be held. Normally cricket operations
finalise the schedule of a series, but a surprised Siraj said his committee was never discussed on any schedule for a possible Pakistan tour.
Earlier in December, PCB had issued a similar joint statement confirming their support for Kamal as ICC vice-president before the ruling party lawmaker got his
nomination from his own Board.
The two incidents came as Kamal’s desperation for an ICC role, which insiders said he has bought now at the expense of national cricketers’ safety. Kamal, who is
currently in Dubai for the ICC board meeting, was not available for comments.
Courtesy of New Age
