It was Ireland call to convert Test with T20- BCB CEO
Image : Cricfrenzy
|| CF Correspondent ||
Bangladesh Cricket Board said on Tuesday that agreed to convert the one-match Test against Ireland with a T20 as the host want to concentrate on shorter format cricket.
Bangladesh was expected to play Ireland in only the second Test match in Ireland as per the FTP2020.
However, Ireland on Monday announced that they making changes to their FTP 2020, which includes the cancellation of a five-match T20I series against Afghanistan and the conversion of the one-off Test vs Bangladesh into a T20I.
It was their call and they wanted to play shorter version cricket instead of the Test match as they were prepared for the longer version,’’ BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury told cricfrenzy.
According to FTP schedule there was a Test and that is what agreed upon by the board. But now they feel that they cannot play the Test for certain reasons,’’ he said.
‘’They did not disclose the reasons though what we understand the reason behind it is financial. They have told us that they have certain limitation and so wanted to play shorter version cricket,’’ he said.
Earlier, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom stated that financial challenges faced by the board have been the catalyst for such a decision.
.With Ireland not being part of the Test Championship, Deutrom brought up the absence of 'context' in the lone Test at home, and the fact that there is a T20 World Cup and an ODI league to look ahead to.
"The first area of prioritization for 2020 has been white-ball cricket over the red ball. Like all Irish cricket fans, we would love nothing more than to be competing on all three fronts - Tests, ODIs and T20Is. Unfortunately, our financial constraints have led us to cut the home Test match next year. As the Test does not form part of the World Test Championship, the one-off match lacks context. For effectively a "friendly", the expected costs for hosting the Test would be over EUR 1 million, with little expectation of creating revenue streams to cover the costs of hosting."
"Those tough decisions also include having to prioritize some white-ball cricket over others. With Bangladesh and NZ coming over for important ODIs, it makes sense to extend their tours with complementary T20Is. Similarly, Pakistan is the #1 T20I team in the world and have proven popular visitors here over the years. However, we have notified the Afghanistan Cricket Board that we shall not be in a position to host them for the 5 planned T20Is in 2020. We have been regular and frequent opponents of the Afghans every year for a long time now, and we shall be again in the future. However, needs must at this juncture to ensure we are operating as a responsible governing body operating within our means.
"The ODIs and remaining T20Is next year, on the contrary, both have greater context and direct connections to two upcoming World Cups. The T20Is will form essential match play experience leading into the T20 World Cup in October, while the ODIs will become important with the start of the new World Cup Super League next year, which is the next 50-over World Cup's qualification process. This will mean that in 2020, three of the Bangladesh ODIs and the three New Zealand ODIs next year directly count towards world cup qualification."
Even as they aim to build towards becoming a competitive Test side in the long-term.
