Bangladesh hoping for best available England XI for the upcoming tour
With England limited overs captain, Eoin Morgan making it official that he is not willing to tour Bangladesh which will commence from 7th October, Bangladesh will be hoping to compete against the best possible England XI. The BCB chairman Nizamuddin Chowdhury has given 100% security assurance to the visiting players who will be travelling along with support staff affiliated with the team as well as the England Cricket Board.
Earlier Test captain Alastair Cook revealed that he was happy and satisfied with the arrangements made by the Bangladesh security personnel as well as BCB. Speaking at a press conference, Chowdhury said Bangladesh will be hoping that the ECB would leave no stones unturned to send their best squad for the series, something that would add to the competitiveness of the series.
“We just hope they will send the best available squad, which we expect to be competitive,” Chowdhury said.
The chairman also added that a few countries who had been reluctant to go ahead with the tour haven't faced any sort of distractions in terms of security arrangements . Using this as a case study, Chowdhury went on to add that additional measures will indeed be taken by the BCB to ensure a safe and a smooth series.
Also read: Jos Buttler to lead England in Bangladesh, Eoin Morgan cops criticism for withdrawing from tour
“As you, all know some countries had expressed their concern during that tournament also. But we successfully managed to convince them to come here and hosted the tournament without any incident.
“England will be given the same security as we had during the tournament when additional measures were put in place,” he said without elaborating.
The tour was in serious doubts after an attack on Dhaka Café in July killed as many as 20 who were mainly foreign hostages with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. Following the attack, the England Cricket Board (ECB) sent an inspection team to Bangladesh. The team was led by long-serving security chief Reg Dickason. The ECB confirmed last month that the tour would go on as planned.
Also read: Andrew Strauss puts England players under pressure to travel to Bangladesh
Meanwhile, the current Bangladesh side has raised their game by leaps and bounds in the last year or so. Beating Pakistan, India and South Africa in back to back home ODI series is surely the greatest achievement in Bangladesh cricket history.
The hosts have beaten England in their last two World Cup matches in 2011 and 2015 respectively. Their victory in the 2015 World Cup stalled England’s chances of qualifying for the quarter-final. The current English side is a tough one to beat and Bangladesh would look to give the visitors a tough challenge.