Pakistan Likely to go Ahead with Bangladesh Tour

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided in principle to send the national team to Bangladesh in April-May if the hosts agree to foot expenses for the tour.

A file photo of the Pakistan team.

© AP

An official in the board told PTI that while the PCB was still waiting for a final response from the Bangladesh Cricket Board on its demand for a 50 percent share in the revenues earned from the series, it wanted the tour to go ahead.

"Our main concern is that we get nothing out of the tour although in principle it should be our home series because we toured Bangladesh in 2011 and they didn't return the tour in 2012," the official said.

"We had even offered to host this series in UAE to earn something from it but they declined," he added.

The official said the PCB wanted the tour to go ahead as scheduled but the PCB also was not interested in spending from its own pocket to send the team to Bangladesh.

"If the BCB agree to pay for the team's air tickets and take care of their other expenses on the tour we will probably go ahead with it," the official said.

Earlier senior officials of the PCB including Chairman, Shaharyar Khan and Najam Sethi had hinted that if Bangladesh didn't agree to share revenues from the series Pakistan could call off the tour.

Pakistan are scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and two T20 matches on the tour.

The BCB initially refused the Pakistani demand for a share in revenue but later said it would be willing to look at taking care of the Pakistan team expenses to make the tour.