The Bangladesh National Cricket Team’s Test series against the South Africa National Cricket Team has been given the green light as the Cricket South Africa (CSA) delegation expressed satisfaction over the security arrangements for the matches.
The two-match Test series between the Bangla Tigers and the Proteas is scheduled to begin on October 21 as per the Future Tours Programme. However, there has been a delay in finalising the schedule due to the recent political unrest and anti-government protests in the country.
Notably, the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup was also scheduled to be played in Bangladesh but the International Cricket Council (ICC) moved the tournament out of the country and shifted it to the UAE due to the unrest. Therefore, South Africa’s participation in the two-match Test series in the country was subject to security clearance.
Meanwhile, Cricket South Africa (CSA) sent a four-member delegation to Bangladesh for inspection. Among the four members, one was former all-rounder Farhaan Behardien.
They arrived in Dhaka on September 21 and the next day visited Chattogram, where one of the Test matches will be played. They also inspected the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur and the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram.
Meanwhile, the four-member delegation witnessed drills conducted by security forces and inspected the facilities at the venues.
South Africa Cricket delegation satisfied with security arrangements, says Bangladesh Cricket Board official
In an interaction with reporters, Shahriar Nafees, BCB’s cricket operations manager, said that the Cricket South Africa delegation was satisfied with the arrangements and will soon submit its report to the South African board.
“From what I could gather from their conversations, they are very satisfied. They thanked the BCB and the security forces for organising everything in such a short time. They will now fly back home and submit their final report while we complete our internal work,” Shahriar Nafees, BCB’s cricket operations manager, told reporters on Monday, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“We showed them the protocol that BCB usually maintains for any international series. Unfortunately, due to political instability, we were unable to host the Women’s T20 World Cup.”
Nafees further said Cricket South Africa was concerned about security arrangements as the Women’s T20 World Cup was moved out of the country by the ICC.
“They had concerns about the situation so they came to look at the current conditions and how we will maintain safety protocols. South Africa has never sent a delegation before but after we lost the hosting rights of the Women’s T20 World Cup, they came to review the preparations,” said Nafees, who accompanied the delegation during its stay in Dhaka and Chattogram.
The South African national cricket team will reportedly arrive in Bangladesh on October 16 and will participate in the Test matches starting on October 21 and 29.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh National Cricket Team is currently engaged in a two-match away Test series against the Indian National Cricket Team, and prior to that, they toured Pakistan for a two-match Test series, which they won.