Pakistan Cricket Board Has Invited Bangladesh To Play A Pink-Ball Test Next Month in Karachi

The Pakistan cricket team are currently hosting Sri Lanka in a two-Test series, the first of which began on Wednesday in Rawalpindi. It marked the return of the five-day fixtures to the Pakistan shores since 2009 post the devastating set of events because of which the country went in a lockdown. As per the latest news, the Pakistan Cricket Board has invited their Asian counterpart Bangladesh to play a pink-ball Test in January.

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The Tigers are slated to tour Pakistan for three T20 internationals and a couple of five-day fixtures in January 2020. The CEO of the PCB Wasim Khan acknowledged that they sent a schedule of the series to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, implicating that one of the two Tests be played with the pink ball or as a day-night affair at the National Stadium in Karachi. The officials from the BCB claimed that they would need a week to seek approval from their government.

Bangladesh Cricket Team played their inaugural day and night Test in the previous month against India in Kolkata, having lost that game and that series comprehensively. Before the ongoing Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Ground in Rawalpindi, Pakistan last played a home Test in Karachi. Post the suspension of international cricket since March 2009, the men in green used to host all the other teams in the United Arab Emirates. They have, although previously played a pink-ball Test back in 2016 against the Windies in Dubai.

Pakistan to not play all their home games at a neutral venue:

PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani stayed firm that from here on, they would play all their games in Pakistan and not at a neutral venue. He also conceded that if any team is not comfortable touring the country, there needs to be a valid reason in place.

“If any team has any objection to playing in Pakistan they have to give us a valid reason for this. We now intend to play all our home series in Pakistan,” Mani said as quoted by Indiatvnews.

While not many teams have still accepted to tour Pakistan, Wasim Khan remained optimistic that Bangladesh would grace them with their presence. He further said that PCB has also welcomed South Africa, Afghanistan, and Ireland to tour Pakistan.

“We have also invited South Africa, Afghanistan and Ireland to tour Pakistan and we might host one of them sometime after the PSL in March,” Wasim Khan stated.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh would be occupied with hosting the Bangladesh Premier League that commences from the 11th of December.

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