Confusion over Bangladesh's Zimbabwe tour dates

Bangladesh's proposed tour of Zimbabwe in August has been delayed by the relaying of pitches in Harare and Bulawayo, but there's confusion over the length of the delay.

Zimbabwe Cricket wanted to postpone the tour to October but the Bangladesh Cricket Board is against playing at that time because it would clash with the domestic season and the staging of the newly formed National Cricket League.

"They (Zimbabwe) have informed us that neither of their grounds is prepared so it won't be possible in August," Enayet Hossain Siraj, the BCB's chairman of the cricket operations committee, told the Dhaka paper Daily Star. "They proposed a tour in October but it won't be possible because we will have our domestic season at the time. So we agree to hold it in April 2013."

However, Zimbabwe are yet to confirm if the series will indeed take place next year.

"We have requested (the BCB) that the series be moved to October from August," Ozias Bvute, ZC's managing director, told ESPNcricinfo. "This is because we want to work on our wickets and squares in Harare and Bulawayo; they have been very flat over the last few years so we want to make them livelier. We were supposed to do this work earlier but because South Africa are visiting for five T20s in June, we can only do it later."

Bangladesh were scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20 during the tour. In the coming months, they will tour Europe to play Ireland in a four-day game, three one-dayers and two Twenty20 games. There is also a possibility of matches against Netherlands and Scotland during the tour.

Their immediate tour is to Pakistan, for an ODI and Twenty20 later this month. With less than two weeks left for the first game on April 29, the team hasn't started training yet, though its been a hastily arranged tour. The more pressing matter, however, is whether Bangladesh will be given a schedule to train. Siraj said the committee is waiting for the ICC's assessment report. "We have discussed the issue but we will wait for the ICC to let the board know about the progress," he said.

Meanwhile, the BCB has been invited to send a team to Trinidad & Tobago for a tournament commemorating the island's Independence Day in August. The winners will get $20,000 and the organisers will bear all expenses. A BCB XI could be sent, it was learned.

(Additional reporting by Firdose Moonda)