SL tour a long and tough process: Akram

Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB's) cricket operations committee are busy with preparations for the upcoming Sri Lank tour and as the first step the board is going to conduct coronavirus tests of each player at their homes from September 18 before starting the residential camp on September 21.

"There have been a few changes from our initial plan… it might be [a change of] a couple of days here and there and we have decided to collect the samples of the players from their homes for the coronavirus test.," Cricket Operations Chairman Akram Khan told the media after a meeting with the selectors at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

"After the test we are planning to take them to the hotel, where we will practise from September 21 for a few days before travelling to Sri Lanka,"

Akram said the selectors are expected to name a squad of 20-22 players and announce the squad between September 10 and 15. He also added that the Tigers coaching staff, including head coach Russell Domingo, is expected to join the side and will be quarantined before starting.

"We are hoping to declare the team by September 10 to 15 and will have a squad if 20 to 22 players. Covid-19 is not as easy as we think. There is a lot of risk involved and we need to keep enough options ready. We are still discussing the squad. It is a long tour and we are to know the length of quarantine that we will have after reaching Colombo. The coaches have to be in quarantine once they reach Dhaka. The process ahead is long and tough and we need to plan well to handle that," Akram said.

The Tigers are scheduled to play a three-match Test series under the ICC Test Championship and it will mark their return to competitive cricket since last playing against Zimbabwe in March, just before the coronavirus outbreak hit Bangladesh. Akram said keeping the long break in mind, they are planning to play quite a few practice matches in Sri Lanka before announcing the main squad.

"The squad will of course involve cricketers that had last played [for Bangladesh], along with a few more names. We will have three to four practice matches [in Sri Lanka], so the selectors will have options to select from," he said.

There was talk about whether the two boards would add limited-overs matches alongside the Test series, but Akram ruled out that possibility as the Sri Lankan board have already scheduled the Lanka Premier League T20 tournament during that time.

"No [there will be no limited-overs cricket] because the Test series is of the ICC Championship. We had requested them to play but they have the LPL T20 schedule to maintain. We are yet to understand the length of quarantine in Colombo. But these things will be decided soon and most probably we are going to stay in Colombo for the whole time, given it has the best health facilities," said Akram.