The Bangladesh Cricket Board has postponed the tour of Pakistan cricket team for an indefinite period on the advice of the government, said the officials on Thursday.
�We have been advised by the home ministry to postpone the tour until further notice,� said BCB media chief Jalal Yunus.
Pakistan were due to arrive in Bangladesh on Saturday to play two Twenty20 matches and five one-day internationals against the hosts from March 10 to 22.
The decision came minutes before the BCB�s scheduled press conference regarding the security arrangement for the visiting team.
The title sponsor for the series and the Bangladesh team were also scheduled to be announced in two separate press conferences. The programmes were cancelled after the BCB announced its decision.
The BCB had planned an improved security for the tourists after unidentified gunmen ambushed the Sir Lanka cricket team bus and its police escorts on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday.
Six Sri Lankan players and a British coach working with the team were injured while seven Pakistanis were killed in the attack following which the Test was cancelled.
Bangladesh also have security concerns after last week�s mutiny at the country�s paramilitary forces headquarters at Pilkhana had left around 80 people, mostly army officers, dead.
The BCB officials did not comment on whether the postponement of the series have any link with the Lahore attack or BDR mutiny and said it acted totally on the Bangladesh government�s directives.
�Our preparations for Pakistan�s visit to Bangladesh were in the final stages and the Pakistan cricket team was also ready to tour. However, the concerned authorities of the Bangladesh government advised us to postpone the series for the time being,� said Yunus in a statement.
The BCB, however, said it received a directive from the International Cricket Council asking for the revised security plan for the series following the attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers, officials said.
�The ICC wants the players to be protected totally. So it wanted us to redraw our security arrangement and we are ready to work on their advice,� acting chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury said.
Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful appeared disappointed after the postponement of the series, but said if it is linked with the security of the players he has no complaint.
�It�s frustrating that the series has been postponed for now. We were very keen to play against Pakistan. But at the same time you have to put the players� safety above everything,� said Ashraful.
The Pakistan series was a reciprocal trip as Bangladesh went on a tour last year to fill in after Australia had cancelled their trip at the eleventh hour on security grounds.
The BCB officials said they are now working with their Pakistani counterparts to set a suitable new date for the series.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt later at a press conference in Lahore said the tour had been postponed by two weeks and the new dates would be announced later on Thursday.
�The International Cricket Council has asked the Bangladesh board to beef up security in light of what happened with the Sri Lankan team. So the Bangladesh board requested us to postpone the tour by two weeks and we said fine,� Reuters quoted Butt as saying.
�After Tuesday�s incident we have to go through our government and get clearance for the tour which we are doing,� he added at the press conference.
The comments of Butt gave a clear indication that the series will go on before the end of the current month, though the BCB officials refused to confirm it.
�We are not sure whether it will take two weeks or one month. Whatever we decide we will let you know,� said Ahmed Sazzadul Alam, the organising committee chairman for the Pakistan tour.
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