LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has not only refused to let two of its cricketers play in Bangladeshi league but has also rejected an offer put forward by BCB to play a series against the tigers.
However, Pakistan will be playing warm up matches in Bangladesh just before the World Cup. This is the second time PCB refused to play a series against Bangladesh. The relations between the two boards were strained due to BCB’s tilt towards India over the issue of allotment of Champions Trophy to Pakistan and the shift of the World Cup matches.
It was the Bangladesh board which refused to host the Pakistan series two years ago, citing security concerns. The two teams were scheduled to play five ODI’s and two T20 internationals in March 2009. BCB had said that their government didn’t give clearance for the series to go on. The series was scheduled to be played just after the Sri Lankan team was attacked by terrorists in Lahore.
PCB felt that it was let down by Bangladesh, which should have stood up in support of the troubled board at that time. Chances are that Pakistan would prefer playing Zimbabwe at home instead of visiting Bangladesh. Zimbabwe is the only team that agreed to tour Pakistan despite all the security troubles.
Meanwhile, PCB refused to allow Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal to play league cricket in Bangladesh. The pair had applied for no-objection certificates after they were overlooked for Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand starting this month.
No official reason was given for the refusal. However, it has been learnt that the PCB is following the ICC directions to keep these players away from cricket until allegations of match-fixing have been cleared.
