England’s team tour of Bangladesh, which was supposed to begin from mid-September has now been postponed indefinitely. Reports suggest that it was the decision of the Bangladesh Cricket Board and a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) can not be ruled out either considering that mid-September also marks the start of the second leg of the Indian Premier League.
The England Men’s team Director of Cricket Ashley Giles had earlier said that the English players will either be part of the tour program to Bangladesh or will take a rest instead of playing in the IPL because of injury concerns.
Now that the BCB seemed to have postponed the tour, giving Covid-19 protocols as the reason, it also paves way for English cricketers to participate in the IPL as it would be the ideal preparation for the World T20.
However, with this postponement and English players potentially playing in the IPL becoming clearer, it would be interesting to see if England’s Pakistan tour goes as planned. The English Men’s and Women’s teams are to play two T20Is on October 14 and 15. But with the start of the World T20 opening ceremony being very close to those dates and quarantine norms yet not finalised, will England take the risk?
According to Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ehsan Mani, the tour is still on. “Wasim Khan has been in discussions with the ECB and agreed on the tour arrangements with Tom Harrison. As far as we are concerned, the visit is going ahead,” he was quoted as saying by Daily Mail UK.