‘Need enough time to prepare for SL Tests’

Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Sri Lanka in July to play a three-Test series but T20 skipper Mahmudullah Riyad cautioned that to go ahead with the series would be difficult since it takes more time to prepare for Tests than other formats.

Mahmudullah appeared in a Facebook Live interview with The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin this evening and when asked what the preparation level should be to restart cricket, Mahmudullah said: "It's my personal opinion that preparing for Test matches is different to preparing for ODIs or T20s. We are supposed to play in Sri Lanka but what we need to understand is that to play Test matches, you need to give as much time [as possible]."

Cricket stopped in Bangladesh during the second round of the Dhaka Premier League in mid-March and there are no signs that the players might get back to training any time soon.

"We haven't touched a bat or ball in three months. We may have been training at home but there are factors like skills training and also practice matches, and those things take quite a lot of preparation," Mahmudullah continued.

"We need enough time to play Test matches," he concluded.

India had already called off their tour of Sri Lanka this month due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Regarding training of the national cricketers, we have already witnessed that many areas were marked as red zones in Dhaka, and Mirpur is among the red zones. So, it is not possible to continue training in those areas at the moment. About the national team's Sri Lanka tour, we all know it requires mental and physical preparation for any series and the situation at the moment is not ideal in our country. The BCB will talk to the government officials and whatever the government decides, we will follow," Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) general secretary Debabrata Paul had told media on Monday.