BCB HP tour looks all set to be postponed

|| CF Correspondent ||

Bangladesh High Performance upcoming tour of Sri Lanka looks all but uncertain as tourist insisted that they cannot accommodate more than 30 cricketers in the upcoming tour.

According to Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is awaiting a response from the BCBV over a set of health guidelines it sent them before the three-Test series between the two countries can commence in October.

Ashley de Silva, the Chief Operating Officer of SLC, speaking to the Sunday Observer confirmed they received the stipulated health guidelines from the local health authorities which was communicated to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on September 12.

“We have got the guidelines from the Health Ministry that has been sent to the BCB today (yesterday). They have to study it thoroughly and give us their feedback as to how they will prepare themselves to embark on this tour,” De Silva was quoted in Sunday Observer.

One of the mandatory health requirements is a 14-day quarantine period while the players will also have to undergo PCR tests and remain in their hotel to ensure the tour party is not affected by the virus.

Earlier the BCB had made a request for a 65-member contingent to arrive in the island which SLC rejected and granted permission for only its National team and officials comprising 30 members.

“We want to make sure that we eliminate the virus threat and support the government in a national cause. We will wait until we receive a feedback from BCB and then pursue the rest of the arrangements,” said De Silva.

The BCB will conduct COVID-19 tests in four phases, with three tests scheduled on September 18, 21 and 24 and the final test 72 hours before they take the flight to Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, as SLC is not ready to host more than 30 members the High Performance tour of Sri Lanka with the national team is postponed.

BCB claimed that they were given the impression earlier that while they serve their quarantine period, they will have the opportunity to train and/or play intra-squad games before the Test series kicks off in October.

However, they won't be allowed to play matches against any local teams before completing their quarantine period.

Consequently, BCB had decided to travel to Sri Lanka with an expanded High Performance squad on September 27 and were willing to foot the bills of their accommodation.

A final squad for the Test series was due to be pruned after the conclusion of their intra-squad games, while the remainder were due to play two four-day and five one-day games against the Sri Lankan High Performance squad on the sidelines of the Tests, that are a part of the Championship.   

‘’Look the HP tour is completely different from national team and the HP camp can be done later,’’ said a BCB.

‘’But we are not playing cricket for six to seven months and we need right kind of preparation for the series and the Test series is in our priority list because it will be difficult to get a slot later,’’ he said.