Bangladesh likely to face Hyderabad in warm-up clash

Sport Desk: Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) secretary K John Manoj on Monday (January 23) said he was happy with the Indian Cricket Board's decision to entrust Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI's general manager (game development), with the responsibility of ensuring the smooth conduct of the historical one-off Test between India and Bangladesh to be held in Hyderabad from February 9.

"I got a call from Shetty about it a couple of hours ago. He wanted to have a one-on-one meeting with me. So, he is coming here on Wednesday and we will have a talk at the RGIC Stadium in Uppal in the evening," John Manoj said.

"Basically to coordinate the smooth conduct of the Test match," Shetty had said when asked about the reason for this appointment.

Asked if there was still a possibility of the Test being shifted out of Hyderabad, John Manoj said: "As of now, the Test is going to be held here. Shetty too didn't give any indication that the Test could be moved out. He, in fact, asked me about the preparations we have made thus far.

"I informed him about the things we have done like awarding the instadia rights to 21st Century, taking police and other government departments permissions etc. He sounded quite happy with the way things are being taken care of," he added.

"Shetty's presence will ease the pressure on us and give us more clarity on issues. All these days we were struggling with a couple of issues and it was not easy to get clarifications. Now, we can approach Shetty on things relating to the Test match and get quick approvals," he added.

One of the approvals needed is about the Bangladesh side playing a practice game before the Test. "Bangladesh are in New Zealand and they were keen on playing a practice game here. We had sought the BCCI's approval for it. Now with Shetty on board, I think we can finalise it soon," John Manoj said.

If approved, the game will be against the Hyderabad Ranji team. "It will be a big boost for the side as the players will get to play against an international side. It will be an invaluable experience for the Hyderabad players," said former secretary PR Man Singh, who had recently visited Dhaka and had talks with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials.

A reciprocal series between Bangladesh and Hyderabad under-19 teams is also on the cards, Man Singh informed.

Source: Agencies

risingbd/Dhaka/Jan 24, 2017/A K Azad