Bangladesh cricket team arrives in Pakistan amid for T20I series
The Bangladesh cricket team arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday to play three T20Is in Lahore, its first tour of the country in almost 12 years.
Bangladesh last played in Pakistan in 2008 when it lost an ODI series 5-0 and a one-off T20I.
Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will host all the three T20Is on Friday, Saturday and Monday.
The tour was only finalized last week when Bangladesh agreed to split the T20I series and the two ICC World Test Championship matches in three phases after the national cricket boards reached consensus in Dubai in a meeting facilitated by International Cricket Council chairman Shashank Manohar.
Bangladesh will return for the first test at Rawalpindi from Feb. 7-11. After a break of almost two months, Bangladesh will play an ODI and the second Test at Karachi on April 3-9.
According to further reports, around 10,000 policemen and para-military force will escort the Bangladesh team from the hotel to the Gadaffi Stadium, where the three-match T20I series will be played.
Bangladesh cricket team arrives in Pakistan amid for T20I series
Late last year, Sri Lanka also split its tour to Pakistan into two phases when it played a Twenty20 series in Lahore and then returned in December for two test matches at Rawalpindi and Karachi.
Bangladesh’s experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is the only notable absentee from the tour after he pulled out of both T20Is and the two-Test matches due to security concerns.
Bangladesh's T20 team will be led by Mahmudullah and also include experienced opening batsman Tamim Iqbal.
The PCB has said it will no longer host its home international matches at a neutral venue as it insists Pakistan is now safe for foreign teams.
Sri Lanka’s test series was the first in Pakistan in over 10 years since terrorists attacked Sri Lanka's team bus in Lahore in 2009. The ambush left eight people killed and injured several Sri Lanka players.
