Bangladesh to tour to Sri Lanka April 12

If all goes well, Bangladesh national cricket team will fly for Sri Lanka on April 12. Tigers will play two Tests of the Test Championship in the island state which were postponed.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Chief Executive Officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury on Sunday (March 7) in Mirpur said, “The two Test matches will be held in the same venue.”

He said, “Two Tests will be held a single venue. Bangladesh team will be in Colombo. If all goes well, the cricketers will leave Dhaka for Sri Lanka on April 12. Initially, they will have to stay in quarantine for 6-7 days, the team will be in all the other protocols.”

Although he did not mention name of the venue, the two matches could be held at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. England and Sri Lanka played two Tests at the seafront stadium in January. Actually, the host team organised matches at a venue to avoid travel complications during the coronavirus pandemic. India and England have played four Tests in two venues. The first two Tests of the four-match series have been played in Chennai while the third and fourth in Ahmedabad.

Arriving in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh will have ample opportunity to prepare at the end of the quarantine phase. In addition to practice, they will also play a two-day match between themselves. Then the matches will be played. According to sources, the first Test may be launched on April 22 while the second from April 30. The BCB chief executive did not confirm the schedule. He said, “Since this is their home series. They will publish the schedule. We can’t do that.”

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will arrive in Bangladesh in May to play three ODIs in the ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. Nizamuddin Chowdhury has given an idea that Bangladesh cricket team will get a 15-20 day of free time after the tour. 

“Sri Lanka will arrive in Bangladesh on May 20 to play a three-match ODI series,” he said. The series will be held immediately after Eid.