Brushing aside all doubt and uncertainty over the country’s prevailing political turmoil, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has decided that Bangladesh will remain as the host of the Asia Cup Cricket likely to begin on February 25.
The other hot news that came from the Saturday’s ACC meeting held in Colombo is that Afghanistan have been included in the ensuing Asia Cup Cricket as the fifth team in addition to India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to give the country more exposure ahead of the World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup.
A total of eleven matches will be held in the Asia Cup with the opening match expected to be held on February 25 and the final on March 8.
Earlier, Bangladesh’s status as the host nation was in doubt following the current political volatile situation created due to frequent strikes and blockades in the last few months.
In the last December, the West Indies Under-19s team had pulled out of their tour after an explosion near the team hotel in Chittagong.
Apart from the Asia Cup, Bangladesh is scheduled to host Sri Lanka for a bilateral series and will also stage the World Twenty20 beginning on March 16.
Syed Ashraful Huq, the chief executive of the ACC, said the members did not have any specific questions or reservations about the security arrangements around the tournament being held in the country: “Bangladesh submitted a detailed security plan to the ACC which was studied and agreed to. If any member has any other concerns, they should address it with Bangladesh.”
“As of now, the decision has been made that Bangladesh will retain hosting rights of the Asia Cup,” BCB acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, who participated in the ACC meeting, told reporters in Colombo.
He also said, “We had a good meeting with ACC board members, and they have been convinced that we can host the tournament. Afghanistan has also been added to the tournament, making it a five-team event and the number of matches has gone up to eleven.”
The ACC’s decision will give the BCB enough impetus to convince Sri Lanka Cricket of going through with the bilateral series, which is scheduled to begin on January 27. Jayantha Dharmadasa, the SLC chairman, said a decision on the tour would be made soon.
The ICC, too, will hold security inspections in Bangladesh, before deciding whether to retain Bangladesh as the host for the World Twenty20.
The political situation in Bangladesh, and the resulting violence across the country, had raised concerns whether the tournaments could be held in the country.
The Pakistan Cricket Board also contacted its foreign ministry to get a clear idea as to whether they could travel to Bangladesh. The BCB’s security plans, however, have laid the doubts to rest.
Although the issue was not discussed formally, it is understood that with the Asia Cup going ahead without any hiccups, the World Twenty20, scheduled to start after the Asia Cup, will be held in Bangladesh across the three venues finalised by the ICC.
Huq said the schedule would be finalised soon, considering Afghanistan would need to be slotted in. According to Huq, Afghanistan were included to provide them with more exposure.
The meeting in Colombo was chaired by BCCI president N Srinivasan, who is also chairman of the ACC. PCB CEO Subhan Ahmed, Jayantha Dharmadasa, the SLC chairman, SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga, BCB president Nazmul Hassan and acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury along with presidents of the Singapore, Thailand and Bhutan cricket associations attended the meeting.
Source: UNBConnect