BCB yet to meet and discuss resumption scenarios
The options for the Bangladesh Cricket Board to return to international cricket have been closing one after another, with the postponement of the Asia Cup the latest setback.
Following the postponement of five bilateral series this year, the BCB were eyeing the Asia Cup, scheduled for September, as the foundation for their return to the international circuit. Cricketing activities have been stopped in Bangladesh since mid-March due to the pandemic.
Bangladesh's next international series according to the Future Tours Programme is scheduled for October, when the Tigers are supposed to tour New Zealand for a three-match T20I series. That is followed by a home series against Sri Lanka in December, but both series are uncertain.
With no international series in the near future, the BCB have to shift their focus to the domestic circuit to restart proceedings. The Dhaka Premier League (DPL) was stopped after the first round due to the coronavirus outbreak in March.
Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis (CCDM) chairman Kazi Inam Ahmed stated that they were considering Cox's Bazar or BKSP as alternative venues for the DPL and also arranging accommodation to maintain isolation so they could start on short notice when the situation is conducive to resumption.
However, there were no meetings, not even virtual ones, among the board members yet to discuss and chalk out further steps. According to BCB director and chairman of the media and communications committee, Jalal Yunus, they are waiting for board president Nazmul Hassan, who underwent surgery in London on Thursday, to return to the country.
"The BCB president is currently in London as he just underwent a surgery on Thursday and he is doing fine at the moment. No virtual meetings have taken place yet. We had plans for a meeting but since our president took ill, we couldn't do that. There will be a meeting once the president returns but so far there is nothing scheduled," Yunus told The Daily Star.
Pressure is mounting to tackle the difficult situation and find ways to resume cricketing activities but with the situation in Bangladesh worsening, the board is being forced to play the waiting game.
"Needless to say, if players miss out on even a single season, it will be difficult for them to make a comeback. This is a pandemic and all other aspects of everyday life are being affected. Let us not forget that all the other crises arising are due to the fallout from the health crisis," said BCB director Ahmed Sajjadul Alam Bobby.
"So, we have to fix the root cause first. And those taking decisions on re-opening should be asking themselves if it is prudent to decide on behalf of someone else's child when they would not be inclined to do the same in their child's case. I wish there was an easy answer to this situation but one should take steps considering all the facts and variables."