All four matches of Bangladesh’s planned Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe will be held in Khulna instead of Sylhet, said a Bangladesh Cricket Board official on Tuesday.
Sheikh Sohel, a BCB director hailed from Khulna region, told reporters that decision was finalised in view of a rotation policy. The BCB officials had earlier indicated that the matches will be held in Sylhet but Sohel insisted that there was no concrete decision.
‘Since there are four matches, the plan was to divide them between Khulna and Sylhet equally,’ said Sohel. ‘But it will not be easy to move the broadcasting equipments from one city to other considering their distance.
‘So, we decided to hold all four matches to a single venue and as Sylhet will host the ICC Under-19 World Cup matches, this series will be held in Khulna.’
The BCB later in a press release said the matches of the series will be held on January 15, 17, 20 and 22.
Sohel said Khulna has the lack of hotel facilities that deprived it from holding Under-19 and Bangladesh Premier League matches but it has enough facilities to arrange a bi-lateral series.
‘For Under-19 World Cup and BPL there were shortages of rooms in Khulna,’ he said. ‘We could not accommodate so many teams together. But same cannot be said about Zimbabwe series.
‘So it is the ideal venue for Zimbabwe series. Also, there are so many players from Khulna region. They really deserve some matches.’
Khulna last hosted an international match in last April when Bangladesh and Pakistan played a Test match.
-With New Age input
