ZCZC
BSP-15
CRICKET-MASH-PAK-TOUR
Mashrafe bats for Pakistan tour amid debate
DHAKA, Jan 10, 2020 (BSS)-Amid the ongoing debate whether the Bangladesh
players should go to Pakistan for a full cricket tour, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza
gave his personal opinion in favour of touring the country where most teams
still refused to play due to the security issue.
Bangladesh is scheduled to go to Pakistan for a tour, which comprised of
two-match Test and three-match T20 series. Mashrafe is not playing any format
of those two and hence there is no chance he could be included in the squad.
The only format he is playing currently is the ODI cricket in which he led
the side in the World Cup last year before pulling him out from the three-
match ODI series in Sri Lanka due to injury.
“If you want to know really [about my opinion], I would say, I would have
gone to Pakistan,” Mashrafe said here today when his attention was drawn to
ongoing Pakistan tour debate.
“I definitely would have talked to my family. I don’t know whether they
[family] would have allowed me. Because this is the first time we are talking
about this. But if you just asked me to go to Pakistan, I would have gone
even though everything would have depended on the decision of my family.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has recently proposed Bangladesh to play
the two-match Test series first before taking part in the three-match T20
series latter in convenient time.
The proposal came in the wake of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB’s)
decision to play the T20 series first as they want to visit Pakistan for a
short time only at this moment.
Sri Lanka was the first team to go to Pakistan for a Test series since the
attack on them in Lahore in 2009.
BCB president Nazmul Hassan Papon said most of the players are reluctant
to tour Pakistan for a longer period at this moment.
He also added that while the other players including the head coach
Russell Domingo showed their intention to go to Pakistan for a short-visit,
Mushfiqur Rahim is the only one who refused to be the part of Bangladesh team
in any kind of tour in Pakistan.
“I would have gone but that doesn’t mean those who doesn’t want to go to
Pakistan, are wrong,” Mashrafe said.
“Definitely life is larger than cricket. Personal life should always
get the priority. So everyone is right on what decision they would take about
this tour.”
However, the BCB president was supposed to give a decision on Pakistan
tour on Thursday. But the decision is yet to come.
BSS/SMP/ARS/1931 hrs