Home ›› 03 Dec 2021 ›› Sport
Bangladesh Test team will leave for New Zealand right after the end of the Dhaka Test against Pakistan, said a Bangladesh Cricket Board official.
Nizamuddin Chowdhury, Chief Executive Officer of the BCB told the reporters that the Bangladesh Test team will fly for New Zealand on December 9 to play two Test matches,
The visitors in New Zealand must stay in managed Isolation quarantine as per the government policy, Nizamuddin said that this time the quarantine period is cut short,
“The protocol during our last New Zealand tour (March-April 2021) has been relaxed a bit, we have to undergo three to four days in-room quarantine. Therefore, we have got some bonus opportunities to play practice matches. We will play two two-day practice matches, one will be intra-squad and the other will be with a team from New Zealand”, he told the reporters on Thursday.
Bangladesh team will depart on December 9 morning and Russel Domingo who is facing harsh criticism for his failure as the head coach will also join the team said the CEO.
Though the BCB officials are not happy with Domingo and there are some vacancies in the coaching staff as Rangana Herath, Julien Calefato and Ryan Cook is no longer working with the Tigers.
Nizamuddin told the media that they are in talks with a few professionals but he would not like to disclose their names,
“We are still working on it; you will get a clear picture before the team’s departure. Actually, it’s a matter between the employer and the employee. We can not say something officially unless and until the deal is signed. Maybe you have four more options in your hand but you can not disclose anything before the agreement is signed”, he said on Thursday.
“Imagine, we finalized the deal with some one but due to alarming conditions in the Europe, he could not come. What will happen next?”, he added.
Nizamuddin also said that Khaled Mahmud will also accompany the team as Team Director.
Omicron variant of covid-19 virus has been the new threat globally which is creating new travel bans but Nizamuddin thinks that the new variant of the Covid-19 virus will not have a big impact on the upcoming cricket fixtures.
“It is changing around the whole world. Sometimes it’s on the rise and sometimes the infection rate is low. There is a subject of seven to 10 days quarantine, first three days are in-room quarantine and the next will be under the quarantine facility for three-four days”, he said.
Bangladesh will play two Test matches against New Zealand, the first one will start from January 1 at Bay Oval Tauranga; the second Test will start from January 9 at Hagley Oval Christchurch.
The BCB also floated an Expression of Interest for the Bangladesh Premier League and Nizamuddin said that they are planning to host the T20 tournament in January-February
“There is a slot for BPL from January 28 to February 28, we will finish by that time period”, the CEO told the media.
BCB sought EOI for six franchises, the last date of submission is December 5 which is just few days away, Nizamuddin did not want to disclose the number of interested parties,
“The last date of submission is December 5, let’s wait until that date and later we will tell”, said Nizamuddin.
