Players-Staffs Unwilling for Pakistan Tour: Papon

Papon said Bangladesh will only be able to play the T20 series in Pakistan but that will depend on whether the board can form a good team for the tour.

The BCB president said that talks were still ongoing with the players as the board prepares to form the T20 squad. Bangladesh are unwilling to play the Test series in Pakistan at the moment. He cited that there was no doubt about the security system in Pakistan.

''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 also the U-16 team. The feedback we received from them was that the security system is good,'' Hassan said.

He also mentioned that many of the players and the foreign coaching staff do not want to go to Pakistan. ''Many of the coaching staff has 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; only a handful though 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 security environment. It is fully secure and very much a closed off environment. This is what the majority of the players are saying. They do not want to stay for that long under such security environment. Those who have wanted to go, said that they want to go and play the T20s and return inside one week,'' BCB president informed.

Under such circumstances, the BCB are likely to find it difficult to put together a commendable side for the T20I series in Pakistan. Hassan said that their decision will rest on whether they can manage to form a good side while also citing that they are waiting for all the security clearance from the government agencies.

''We have already communicated [to the PCB] that we are trying to send a team for the T20s if the players are willing.''

''If the players and the staff are willing and we can manage to form a good team then we will send our team. We are awaiting the government clearances. We already got approval from one section and awaiting other instructions. We need clearance from the security agencies.''

''One thing is certain, we won’t force any player to go,'' he said.