Zaka warns Bangladesh
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf on Tuesday warned the Bangladesh Cricket Board that sporting ties could be threatened if they refuse an invitation to tour the troubled country.
PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf was however hopeful Bangladesh would tour but he warned them of consequences if they refused.
"I think we will have to reconsider our relationship with Bangladesh if they don't tour us, but I hope such a situation will not come," Ashraf told news agency AFP.
The PCB has invited Bangladesh to play a limited-overs' series this month, but the tour is subject to a security clearance at the government-level.
Bangladesh sent a delegation to Pakistan last month to assess the security situation after the Pakistani government gave safety assurances.
Reacting to what Ashraf has said, a BCB spokesman said that a decision on the tour is yet to be reached.
"At this stage, no one can bargain with the issue. We are yet to reach any concrete decision regarding the tour," said Jalal Yunus, the chairman of the media committee.
"If he has threatened, it is unfortunate for us. We have a good cricket relationship with Pakistan.
“But everybody should understand that there are a number of stakeholders involved in this decision. Security is one of the main components and no one can avoid it," added Yunus.
Bangladesh Cricket Board president Mustafa Kamal, who headed the delegation to Pakistan, had promised to raise the matter in the ICC board meeting in Dubai which is scheduled from April 14-16.
International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since a deadly terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009.
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