Pakistan tour also a concern for BCB

Bangladesh are scheduled to visit Pakistan on March 29 for the third phase of their full tour to play a one-off ODI and the second Test but there are doubts regarding the tour due to the ongoing coronavirus scare.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan said that they will be discussing the issue of going to Pakistan again after already postponing a scheduled concert and two T20s between World XI and Asia XI, which were to be played at home, due to the coronavirus crisis around the world.

"Let's see, we will be discussing that [visiting Pakistan]. We will go step by step and we will be sitting down for that issue as well," he told reporters today after having confirmed that the concert and T20s between World XI and Asia XI -- both to commemorate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman -- are being deferred.

Karchi has been the worst affected city so far, with 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus till date and both Bangladesh's ODI and second Test are scheduled to be played there. Schools in the Sindh province were directed to remain closed till March 13 after a second person was confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus on March 3, leading to BCB informing that they were going to communicate with the PCB in order to get a clearer picture of the situation.

The ODI was to be played on April 1 while the second Test is slated for April 5. The Tigers are 1-0 down in the Test series following their innings and 44 run defeat in the first Test at Rawalpindi.

There had been many speculations about the fate of the Pakistan tour with BCB previously citing that the players were concerned about security issues. Finally the tour was agreed upon on January 14, to be held in three phases – the second and third phase depending on security clearance for that time -- during a meeting between the two board high-ups, with ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar as the mediator at the sidelines of a meeting of the ICC in Dubai.