Nazmul Hassan told media in Dhaka that several players and members of the team staff are unwilling to travel to the country for a proposed tour in January, instead preferring a shorter T20 visit
Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan has insisted that his team is not prepared to tour Pakistan for next month's scheduled Test series, and their participaition in a T20 series in the country remains subject to government approval and co-operation from players and staff.
Hassan made the comments to media at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka yesterday, despite no security issues being reported as Test cricket returned to the country earlier this month after more than 10 years' absence.
"We have already communicated [to the PCB] that we are trying to send a team for the T20s if the players are willing," Hassan said, according to local English-language paper The Daily Star.
"If the players and the staff are willing and we can manage to form a good team, then we will send our team but some of our star players have said that they don't even want to play the T20s.
"We are awaiting government clearances. We have already got approval from one section and are awaiting other instructions. We need clearance from the security agencies.
"One thing is certain, we won't force any player to go."
Pakistan's two-match series with Sri Lanka earlier this month was the first time it had hosted Test cricket since a terror attack in Lahore in March 2009 killed eight people and injured seven members of the touring Sri Lankan squad, who were heading towards the third day's play at the Gaddafi Stadium.
The World Test Championship fixtures had been preceded by ODI and T20 series in September and October, though several senior Sri Lanka players had opted against taking part in the white-ball fixtures on security grounds.
However, a full-strength Test side travelled for this month's matches in Rawalpindi and Karachi, and captain Dimuth Karunaratne was among those to praise the country's hospitality and expressed his regret at having previously withdrawn.
Hassan's comments highlight similar concerns among unnamed members of the Bangladesh setup and their families, despite positive feedback from Hassan himself and other Bangladesh representative teams that have played recently in the country.
"The biggest thing is that there is no room for doubt over the security system being provided by Pakistan. I went there myself and the women's team was there as well, and so was the under-16 team. The feedback we received from them was that the security system is good," he added.
"Many of the coaching staff have already informed us that they don't want to go. Some of them have said that they do want to go but only for a short period, though only a handful wanted that as most of the foreign staff do not want to go.
"From what I understood from talking to the players, some of them do not want to go. Others were willing to go only for a short period of time. I wanted to know why and understand their mindset.
"One of the factors in their decision was their families. Many in their families are very anxious about the Pakistan series. The second factor is how long they can prevail in such a security environment.
"It is fully secure and very much a closed-off environment – this is what the majority of the players are saying – but they do not want to stay that long under such a security environment. Those who want to go said that they want to go and play the T20s and return inside one week."
PCB chairman Ehsan Mani has previously been adamant that Pakistan's future home fixtures will take place within the country
Pakistan has used several neutral venues for 'home' matches in the past decade, but board chairman Ehsan Mani recently insisted that all future home fixtures would be taking place on home soil after successful visits from Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe and an ICC World XI in recent years.
Journalist Saj Sadiq has quoted a PCB official as saying that the board would not rule out taking legal action against their Bangladesh counterparts should the series not go ahead as planned, backing up comments made by Mani earlier this week that teams reluctant to go through with scheduled fixtures would have to demonstrate reasons why the country was unsafe.
"No one should be under any misapprehension as to where Pakistan's home Tests will take place," Mani said.
"All of Pakistan's matches, against Bangladesh or anyone else, will take place in Pakistan. I still hope the BCB will reflect on the matter and accept there is no reason for them not to visit Pakistan.
"If Sri Lanka can come – and bringing them was very high-risk – then it is safe. If anything even minor had happened, people would have said it isn't safe to come.
"India is at present in far greater turmoil from a security perspective than Pakistan is. I will not take a risk with any players' safety or security. We will listen to everyone who is worried about coming here, but ultimately they'll have to prove it isn't safe to come here."
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