The BCB is likely to push Pakistan’s 2015 tour of Bangladesh to the second week of April, instead of January. Bangladesh, in the meantime, are set to train in Australia for two extra weeks before the World Cup in a bid to acclimatize to conditions where they last played in January 2010.
Though the BCB’s cricket operations committee headed a meeting on the scheduling of international and domestic cricket for the next 12 months on Tuesday, an official confirmation will only come after approval in the board meeting.
Bangladesh are currently expecting a three-match ODI series against India in mid-June, after which their next international assignments include a tour of West Indies in August-September, a possible tri-series in October involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and up to three Tests against Zimbabwe in November-December.
The Tests will be followed by the World Cup in February-March and home series against Pakistan, India and South Africa till July.
“[The training camp in Australia] is almost confirmed,” Akram Khan, the chairman of BCB’s cricket operations committee, said. “We still haven’t decided the dates but we are trying to do a camp as the condition there is different from Bangladesh. If the cricketers can play a few one-day matches there during this camp, it can only benefit them.
“The Pakistan tour will be held in April next year while India will come in June, and South Africa in July.”
To keep the second string players busy, the BCB is trying to host an A team in July or August this year. This will be in addition to Bangladesh A’s tour of West Indies next month, and a home series against Zimbabwe in June.
Meanwhile, there still remained some question marks over Bangladesh’s domestic season. While the 2013-14 season will end in mid-May with the final of the Bangladesh Cricket League, this season’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League will not be held. Instead, the previous tournament, held between September and November last year, is likely to be considered as part of the 2013-14 season, although at the time of the tournament, the BCB had called it the 2012-13 Dhaka Premier League.
The latest confusion arose after AJM Nasiruddin, the chairman of Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis, remained vague on the subject. “I don’t know what 2012-13 is. What is a season? There is nothing called a season and there isn’t one here,” he said. “Just like the [Dhaka Premier Division] league began in September last year, it will take place in October this year.”
With the next Dhaka Premier League to be held in 2015, it effectively means that the 2012-13 season has been skipped. The lower leagues of the Dhaka club system will be held from October 2014 to February 2015. It means that for the 2013-14 season, there won’t be any Dhaka Premier League as well as First, Second and Third Division matches.
