Star network to telecast Bangladesh ODI series in India - reports

Suresh Raina will lead India in the 3-match ODI series in Bangladesh

UPDATE (10.30 PM, June 14):  Bangladesh Cricket Board has confirmed that Star Sports will broadcast the bilateral series after an agreement was reached between Gazi TV and Star Network. Salahuddin Chowdhury, CFO and head of operations of Gazi Group, has said that "Star will be broadcasting the first ODI tomorrow and will continue coverage for the next two”.

Just in: The Bangladesh board announces that @StarSportsIndia will broadcast the #BanvInd series in the subcontinent and South-East Asia.

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 14, 2014

UPDATE: Aakash Chopra, having confirmed the news earlier on twitter, has deleted his tweet. Though Star Sports TV presenter Jatin Sapru confirmed the news. Final confirmation awaited.

Ok, India vs Bangladesh will be telecast on @StarSportsIndia .. Join me tomorrow with @cricketaakash and @sanjaymanjrekar at 12pm IST

— jatin sapru (@jatinsapru) June 14, 2014

After much confusion over the broadcast of India-Bangladesh series in India, a last minute deal between Star Network and Gazi TV, the official right holders of the series seems to have been reached.

Former India opener and TV analyst Aakash Chopra today tweeted that the 3-match ODI series will be broadcast by Star in India.

There was little interest shown in India over buying the broadcast rights for the series which is missing most of the big stars of Indian cricket. With Neo Sports and Ten Sports finding themselves on the wrong side of BCCI, Gazi TV had failed to finalise a deal with either Sony Six or Star Network. While the former was busy with the telecast of FIFA World Cup, the latter had quoted a ‘paltry’ sum according to Gazi Group CFO Salahuddin Chowdhury.

“Star has offered a less than million dollars for three matches. That is too less in comparison to the cost of the rights,” Chowdhury had told Mumbai Mirror a couple of days ago.

Now it seems the two parties have reached a common ground, allowing the Indian viewers to watch the series which hasn’t garnered the usual hype associated with Indian cricket. In his tweet, Aakash Chopra mentioned that viewers can see the telecast with both English and Hindi commentary.

Screenshot of the tweet which was later deleted by Aakash Chopra:

In the absence of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma among others, the Suresh Raina-led Indian team will play 3 ODIs against Bangladesh on June 15, 17 and 19 in Mirpur, Dhaka. Selectors have named a young side, rewarding domestic performers with a place in the squad for the series.