BCB to send high-performance team to Pakistan, informs Shaharyar

Colombo [Sri Lanka], April. 2 (ANI): A high-performance Bangladesh side will be send by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to Pakistan, possibly in July this year, informed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan. Khan, while not mentioning any given time frame, also said Sri Lanka is being discussed as a possible venue for Pakistan's next home series against Bangladesh. "Bangladesh is agreeable to send its high-performance team to Pakistan, which is a big step," ESPNcricinfo quoted Shaharyar as saying. "They will play in Pakistan against our high-performance team. As regards to the national team, they are not yet ready to come to Pakistan but we could play either in Bangladesh or in a third country, which is acceptable to both sides, or we could even do it in Sri Lanka." The PCB chairman further said that the International Cricket Council (ICC) this time around wants [the high-performance teams] to play in July. "I think this time around the ICC wants [the high-performance teams] to play in July, but we will finalise the actual dates later. Neutral venue [for the senior teams' series] is a possibility. These days, Dubai is our neutral venue but it's very expensive. So we might play in Sri Lanka, if they are free at that time," Shaharyar said. Shaharyar was in Colombo for an informal meeting among the heads of Sri Lanka Cricket, Thilanga Sumathipala, BCB head Nazmul Hassan and the PCB to discuss Asian Cricket Council affairs. It should be noted that the BCB had last week turned down PCB's proposal to send its national team to Pakistan for two-match T20 series sometime before July this year. The BCB had also denied the PCB's offer to compensate them after Bangladesh refused to tour Pakistan due to security concerns. The PCB chief also said that their senior men's team will tour Bangladesh in July and August this year, adding that they would be wanting to discuss the financial side of things since they would be on their third consecutive tour of Bangladesh since 2011. On their last visit to Bangladesh in 2015, the PCB had reportedly taken 325,000 dollars and justified it by saying that the series had "technically" been Pakistan's home series. This year, the BCB has rejected all proposals to share revenue although they were open to playing at a neutral venue if needed. (ANI)