Will Bangladesh tour Pakistan amid political turmoil in country and attacks on houses of cricketers?

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The massive political turmoil in Bangladesh has put its cricket team's tour of Pakistan for a two-match T20I series in jeopardy. In a dramatic fold of events Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina flew out of Bangladesh to India and resigned as protests turned violent.

Visuals of mobsters storming into the house of PM Sheikh Hasina and looting stuff also surfaced. The statue of Hasina's father and former president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was also demolished, and reports of Hindus minorities being attacked and temples burned has also surfaced.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has already postponed their A team's tour of Pakistan by two days. They are scheduled to play two four-day and three one-day matches against Pakistan A.

"The Bangladesh A Team's departure for Pakistan has been delayed by at least 48 hours due to unavailable circumstances," BCB said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is in constant communication with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) regarding the A Team's tour," it added.

Will Pakistan vs Bangladesh Test series take place?

Bangladesh senior men's team's two-Test away series against Pakistan starting August 21 in Rawalpindi also looks doubtful due to the current civil unrest in the country. Reports about homes of some senior players being attacked by mobs have also deepened the crisis.

Bangladesh's senior team is supposed to play two Tests in Rawalpindi (August 21-25) and Karachi (Aug 30-Sep 3) but in the current scenario, it might be difficult for the national team to travel for a series.

A PCB source aware of the developments informed that the PCB had even made an offer to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to fly out their Test side to Rawalpindi at the earliest in order to ensure that the series is on.

"The PCB has even offered to host their players for the extra days and provide them with all training facilities in Rawalpindi ahead of the Test matches but they have not responded as yet,” he said.

The A team’s first four-day game is scheduled from August 11. Bangladesh have not toured Pakistan since 2019-20. The PCB source said the board was doing its best to keep in touch with the BCB but communication was very difficult in given circumstances.

"With the BCB president (Najmul Hosain Papon) also leaving the country, apparently the board is not functioning normally," he said. Bangladesh's tour of India is scheduled from September 19 and the men's team is supposed to play 2 Tests and 3 T20Is in three and half weeks.

(With PTI Inputs)