Bangladesh fielding coach hopeful of England's visit to Bangladesh in September
Richard Halsall, the fielding coach of Bangladesh has expressed hope that England will tour the nation late September. Halsall also said, that he feels entirely safe in Bangladesh and that the security conditions in the nation have improved in the recent past.
England are scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh, and will play a series consisting of 3-ODIs and 2 Tests. However, Halsall admitted that the final call would be taken by the England management and the players themselves.
Earlier, Eoin Morgan, the limited over skipper of England had confessed that there are massive concerns relating to security and that the security of the players would have to be factored in before taking any call. Morgan had also suggested that they are open to playing Bangladesh in any neutral venue if the security concerns remain. However, Nizamuddin Chowdhury, BCB's chief executive, quashed any such reports and insisted that Bangladesh is a very safe venue.
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Responding to the terror attack in the country on July 1, Halsall said: “It is not an incident, but an atrocity, and it can happen anywhere in the world.
I am hopeful that the tour will take place. England are, I think, committed to play cricket all over the world. Their U19s were here for the World Cup but maybe the security situation in Bangladesh is better now because awareness of the situation is heightened. I think people are a bit more honest about the threat level and there’s no denial that there’s a threat," Halsall added.
"Being honest about there being a threat is the first step to dealing with it. You have got to get on with it. It is my job to coach, and for England to assess whether it is safe here for their players. I think it is safe to be here. But it is up to them to decide whether it is safe for the team to come. Obviously, it is a different situation for a team. But I really hope that they do come. We need to play some international cricket", Halsall further said.
The scheduled tour will start with ODIs starting from October 7, while the two-Test series is slated to begin from October 20.