The national cricket team’s preparation camp could not be started as per plan as it was postponed for a day after a request by the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s grounds committee, said a BCB official on Saturday. The wickets of the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium have gone through a hectic schedule recently, most notably due to the Dhaka Premier League which ended on November 29, which prompted chief curator Gamini de Silva to work on the wickets, pushing back the start of the national camp by a day.
Gamini said that the new soil laid on the surface of the pitches needs be levelled with a roller to make them playable.
The preparation camp includes a three-match Challenge Cup Twenty20 series to be played between the national team and the Bangladesh A side.
‘We asked them to delay the start of the Challenge Cup for a day as the slight delay will help level the wickets,’ said Abdul Baten, manager of the BCB’s grounds and facilities committee, on Saturday.
‘If the camp had started on time then we would have to cover the other wickets that could have detroyed the grass on the pitches. But now with the new fixture it won’t happen,’ he added.
The BCB issued a press release saying that the first game of the three-match series will be held on December 11 instead of December 10 at Mirpur.
The national camp was expected to get underway today with a fitness test for the players as the cricketers are joining after a week-long gap that was preceded by the DPL.
The dates of the second and third matches were not changed with the final two games of the series scheduled for December 12 and 14.
The first two matches will begin at 5:00pm while the final game will commence at 1:00pm.
The camp will start on Monday at 9:00pm.
-With New Age input
