Bangladesh board postpones Under-19 tour to Pakistan

The Bangladesh Under-19 squad's tour to Pakistan, scheduled from November 10 to 27, has been postponed in light of the imposition of emergency there, according to the Bangladesh Cricket Board.

The board, acting on the advice of the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission in Karachi, said that "discussions are underway with the PCB to work out a new schedule."

The announcement comes close on the heels of the ICC's decision to postpone the Women's World Cup Qualifiers, which were scheduled to take place in Pakistan from November 19 to 25.

Sources within BCB confirmed that the postponement was a result of the uncertain political situation in Pakistan and the authorities were not sure about the security and safety of its players.

PCB, however, has refuted reports that the postponement decision was taken due to security concerns, saying perhaps logistic problems prompted the move.

"Their decision has something to do with logistics. We are trying to find out more details. It is just a postponement and not cancellation," Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the PCB, said.

To add to the confusion, the Pakistan board has yet to be formally advised of the postponement by their counterparts. Shafqat Naghmi, chief executive officer of the PCB, said the BCB were yet to convey to them officially that they were not sending their team for the tour that is scheduled to begin from Saturday.

"We have heard about it in the media but we have got no official message from them [BCB] on this so we do not know what has prompted this change of plans," Naghmi said.

The Under-19 squad were scheduled to play five limited-overs matches as well as one four-day match.