Bangladesh Scraps Plan to Send Cricket Team to Play in Pakistan

Bangladesh scrapped a plan to send its cricket team to play in Pakistan, citing security concerns in the nation.

Bangladesh’s cricket team was scheduled to play a one-day and a Twenty20 match in Pakistan on Jan. 12 & 13. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has sent a letter to the Pakistan Cricket Board about the decision, board President Nazmul Hassan told reporters in Dhaka today.

“The security situation in Pakistan has remained unchanged, and we decided not to send our cricket team for the January tour,” Hassan said.

A car bomb yesterday struck a convoy of three buses bound for Shiite holy sites in neighboring Iran. The attack in the Mastung district of Baluchistan province triggered a fire in one of the vehicles, state-run Pakistan Television reported. The attacks come as Pakistan’s army battles Taliban fighters in the northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

In the latest violence in the region, Taliban killed 21 security personnel kidnapped last week from their posts near the city of Peshawar, according to a statement from Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s office.

To contact the reporter on this story: Arun Devnath in Dhaka at adevnath@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Arijit Ghosh at aghosh@bloomberg.net