da heads bet： Pakistan will tour Bangladesh for a series of five ODIs after thescheduled tour by Sri Lanka in March next year, the PCB has announced
Cricinfo staff24-Dec-2008Pakistan will tour Bangladesh for a series of five ODIs after thescheduled tour by Sri Lanka in March next year, the PCB has announced.Pakistan have not played a bilateral series in Bangladesh since 2002although they played in the tri-nation Kitply Cup earlier this year inMay. “There will be a series of five ODIs in Bangladesh,” Salim Altaf,chief operating officer PCB, told Cricinfo. “The team will leave on March3. The tour is part of the FTP.”Pakistan has played little cricket over the last year, hit bypostponements and cancellations. The latest blow was India’s withdrawalfrom their January tour, though Sri Lanka have said they will replacethem. The series, Altaf said, means at least that the board is trying toarrange matches for the side. “There is an opinion that Pakistan has beenisolated at international level but it’s not correct and we have arrangedtours for the team.”In a bid to ensure that the team does play, Ejaz Butt, the PCB chairman,will meet Cricket Australia officials at an ICC meeting in Perth inJanuary to finalise the five ODIs and Twenty20 Australia is scheduled toplay in March-April in Pakistan.Privately, board officials believe it is likely those games will be playedat a neutral venue. A security assessment is expected before any decisionis made but it is believed that Butt will try and convince CA to sendtheir team over when they meet on January 31.If the series is shifted to a neutral venue, Abu Dhabi or Dubai remain theforemost options, though other venues are also being looked at.