Court delays Bangladesh tour to Pakistan

Bangladesh's proposed tour to Pakistan will be delayed for at least four weeks after a Dhaka court ruled that the decision to tour the country must be justified because of security concerns.
Bangladesh were due to tour Pakistan - the first team to do so since 2009 when the Sri Lankan tour bus was attacked by gunmen - from April 29-30.

However, the Dhaka High Court has ordered a four-week suspension of the tour and ordered Bangladesh's cricket authorities to justify a visit to a region still considered to be highly volatile.

The decision comes after a university teacher and a Supreme Court lawyer submitted a writ petition to the court, challenging the Bangladesh Cricket Board's right to send the team to Pakistan.
"We told the court that the Pakistan tour would risk the lives of our cricketers," Hassan Azim, lawyer for the two petitioners, told AFP. 

"Pakistan is not a safe place for an international sports event. No other international teams are travelling to Pakistan. Why should Bangladesh go? The decision was imposed on the cricketers."

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Zaka Ashraf Wednesday said Bangladesh's short tour will help revive the suspended sport in his country.

 Bangladesh on Sunday confirmed it will play a one-day and a Twenty20 match in Lahore this month, matches which will reintroduce international cricket to Pakistan following its suspension in the wake of 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus.
"I am sure the Bangladesh tour will break the ice, and the breakthrough achieved during President Asif Ali Zardari's tour to India will also help in the revival of Indo-Pak cricket," Ashraf told a press conference.
Last week Zardari reportedly requested Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh to send his national team to Pakistan. Singh promised to talk to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over the matter.
Ashraf said he wants to revive cricket ties with India, stalled in the wake of 2008 terrorists attacks on Mumbai.

"I had a good meeting with BCCI president (Narayanan) Srinivasan and this time he was more positive on the revival of the ties," said Ashraf of his talk on the sidelines of International Cricket Council (ICC) meeting in Dubai.
"I thank the ICC Board for the way they appreciated the revival of cricket and approved of it."
"The situation is not like it was in 2009. Since cricket was suspended in Pakistan our grounds were left deserted but things have improved and I hope more teams will come after the Bangladesh team's tour."
Ashraf said convincing Bangladesh to tour was a victory for fans of the game.
"Cricket is a passion in Pakistan and convincing Bangladesh to tour is a victory for all of us and now even a single policeman will do his best to give the visitors full security," he said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board said a comprehensive security plan will be approved by the federal government and will be forwarded to the ICC shortly.
The Bangladesh team is due to arrive on April 27. They play a 50-over game on April 29 and a Twenty20 the following day.

Misbah pleased with Whatmore influence

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq said on Friday that he was impressed with new coach Dav Whatmore's professionalism as he seeks to lift the talented but unpredictable team.

Whatmore, who took over last month on a two-year contract, guided Pakistan to their second Asia Cup title in Bangladesh and is now training the squad for their tour of Sri Lanka in June and July.

"The experience with Whatmore is very good," Misbah told the media at Pakistan team's fitness camp in Lahore.

"He is dealing professionally and every player is being assessed and the co-ordination is good."

Pakistan will play two Twenty20 Internationals, five ODIs and three Tests in Sri Lanka before taking on Australia in a limited-overs series - also in Sri Lanka.

Misbah said Whatmore, who rose to fame after guiding Sri Lanka to the World Cup title in 1996, is taking care of technical matters.

"Like a good coach whose job is to take care of the practice, how to prepare the team and what are the strengths and weaknesses of the rival team, he is taking care of all such things so it's nice to work with him," he added.

Pakistan to host international cricket for first time since 2009

Pakistan will host its first international matches since 2009 when Bangladesh tour at the end of April. 

The country has been off-limits since March 2009, when Sri Lankan cricketers and officials were attacked by gunmen.

Lahore will host a one-day international on 29 April and a Twenty20 match 24 hours later.

"The public of Pakistan have been deprived of cricket and we felt that we needed to support them," said Bangladesh official Mustafa Kamal.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board president added: "The reception we received when we toured Lahore and Karachi on our security visit was overwhelming."

During the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team six policemen and the team coach driver were killed, while seven cricketers and an assistant coach were injured.

In December, the Pakistan Cricket Board expressed confidence that international cricket would return to the country in 2012.

All of Pakistan's 27 Tests and 67 one-day internationals since the terror attacks have been played on foreign soil.

The UAE has served as Pakistan's temporary home, and played host to England earlier this year, while Lord's and Headingley were the venues for two Tests against Australia in 2010.