Political tension in Bangladesh has reportedly forced the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to shift one ODI of the upcoming three-match ODI series from Dhaka to Chittagong against India.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has announced plans for a protest next month, and it could bring thousands of people onto the streets of Bangladesh's capital city Dhaka, which would not be ideal to host the ODI match against India, who are visiting the country for the first time since 2015.
Team India is all set to arrive in Bangladesh next week, with the bilateral series set to begin with the first ODI on December 4. Originally, all three matches of the ODI series were scheduled to be played in Dhaka, but the protest hampered BCB’s plans.
The BNP has already staged several huge demonstrations around Bangladesh for the last month to force the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and it is highly likely to continue next month as well. Given that the BCB decided to shift the third and final ODI from Dhaka to Chittagong,
BCB operations chief Jalal Yunus told AFP on Wednesday: “Chittagong was originally scheduled to host one Test. We felt there should be an ODI at the venue too.”
However, Jalal didn’t reveal whether the protest had caused the venue change, but New Age claimed that a BCB official told the newspaper that the board had taken the decision to avoid the rally.
Notably, after the ODI series, Bangladesh will also host India for two Tests, starting from December 14–18 in Chittagong, followed by the second and final Test in Dhaka from December 22–26.
(With AFP/ New Age Inputs)
