Bangladesh Scrap One Test Against Afghanistan Due To Tight Schedule

Bangladesh Scrap One Test Against Afghanistan Due To Tight Schedule (Image Source: IANS)

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have scrapped one Test from the upcoming home series against Afghanistan, scheduled in June.

According to the original itinerary, Bangladesh were scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and as many T20Is at home but they have decided to scrap one Test because of their very tight schedule, a Cricbuzz report said on Monday. 

BCB cricket operation chairman Jalal Yunus said that their schedule was very tight and that they want to concentrate more on white-ball cricket in preparation for the 50-over World Cup to be held in India later this year.

"We will play one Test along with T20Is and ODIs. There were two Tests but we have reduced it to one because our schedule is very tight (ahead of the next World Cup). We will play the other Test at some other time but for now we are just playing one Test," Yunus told reporters.

BCB was also planning to organise a 10-day long skill camp in Bengaluru or the UAE but they haven't been able to finalise yet, with the schedule for the World Cup not yet announced. If the board cannot hold any skill camp abroad, they will prepare for the showpiece event at home.

"Look, the schedule will be prepared by ICC with the cooperation of India as they are the host. We are waiting for the schedule as we are yet to know in which venue we will be playing and when we get that we can understand where we stand (as far as preparation is concerned)," Yunus said further.

"The practice camp is related with the schedule and if we could get the date we (could have planned something) because you all know before that we have the Asia Cup and after that we will hardly get any time. We need the schedule as quickly as possible because this is very important for us to plan for our preparation ahead of the tournament.

I don't think if we cannot prepare abroad then that will be a big problem for us. All the ODI matches that we will be playing ahead of the World Cup we will consider that as part of our preparation for the mega tournament," he added.

Bangladesh are next scheduled to play a three-match ODI series in Ireland on May 9, 12 and 14. This series is part of the World Cup Super League.