'Tit-for-Tat': Pakistan calls off Bangladesh cricket tour

LAHORE: Pakistan has called off its scheduled tour of Bangladesh this year,reportedly after the neighbouring country’s repeated refusals to visit Pakistan.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said the series has been postponed indefinitely by mutual consent. Pakistan was to play two Tests, three ODIs and a T20I series in Bangladesh in July and August this year.

PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan told cricket website ESPNcricinfo, “We had spoken about the possibility of hosting them this year,”. “Pakistan have now toured Bangladesh twice without them reciprocating, and we feel we cannot tour Bangladesh for the third straight time. Therefore, we have decided to postpone the tour, and will explore another window in the next year or so.”

Bangladesh last toured Pakistan in 2007-08, for a five-ODI series. Since then, Pakistan have toured Bangladesh twice, in 2011-12 and 2015. The PCB had invited Bangladesh for a two-match T20I series this year, only for the Bangladesh board to rebuff the invitation.

Bangladesh were the fourth team – after West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka – to refuse to travel to Pakistan in the last two years.

The PCB is looking to build on hosting an incident-free PSL final in Lahore in March by inviting a team of international cricketers to play a T20 series in September.