Satisfied with security, no reason to skip Test tour to Pakistan: BCB President

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan has expressed his confidence in the security provided to the Bangladesh team, in the recently concluded Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Pakistan in Lahore.

While talking to media in Dhaka on Wednesday, the BCB chief confirmed that they will be sending their team for the Test match to Pakistan, scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi from February 7 to 11.

“We were not convinced about the security situation in Pakistan earlier. So, we had told that we will decide about the Test series after seeing the situation during the T20 series,” Nazmul said. "It’s really impossible to offer more security than what they provided us. We are satisfied with the security in Pakistan. There is no complaint from any player or coaching staff. There is no reason to skip the Test series. We are going to play Test in Pakistan.”

ALSO READ: MCC announce squad to tour Pakistan

Nazmul rued the fact that Bangladesh will be missing their senior batsman Mushfiqur Rahim in the upcoming Rawalpindi Test.

“We didn’t have Shakib in India. Tamim had also opted out. Now we don’t have Mushfiqur who is our number one batsman in Test cricket,” he said. “We have to try a new batsman at number four. But Musfhiqur will return against Zimbabwe. It means we have to try a new one just in two Tests. It’s really tough to come up with a good combination if a player suddenly calls to stay out of a series. We have to talk with the players and bring out a solution of it.”

The 58-year-old was disappointed with the batting approach of Bangladesh team in the T20I series against Pakistan, which they lost to the hosts by 2-0.

“To be honest, the performance of this series was not like we usually do. It was tough to believe that the Bangladesh team can play like this,” he said. “We scored more than 90 runs without losing any wicket and ended up on 130 or 140. We were defensive in T20 cricket even after 12-14 overs. I have not seen this sort of defensive cricket in a long time.”

“I asked the players why they opted to bat first. They said the wicket was batting-friendly. After the match, they said the batting was tough. I don’t understand what happened. Did they fail to read the wicket properly?” he questioned.