Law expresses concerns over team`s Pakistan tour

Dhaka: Bangladesh coach Stuart Law has expressed concerns over the national team`s upcoming tour to strife-torn Pakistan, where international cricket has not been played for a little more than three years now.

No team has toured Pakistan since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore in March 2009. But now Bangladesh are all set to become the first team to visit the country after the incident, in which six security men and two civilians died, while six Lankan cricketers and an assistant coach got injured. "It`s got to be made sure by the two associating boards that everyone is 100 per cent safe to go," Law was quoted as saying by the Dhaka-based `New Age` newspaper. "I cannot speak on behalf of the players. I have spent time with the players and everyone is a bit concerned. Not just Bangladesh, but the other teams as well. "The first initial response from the players around the world is: `I don`t want to go`," he added. Law refused to confirm whether he would go with the team on the tour to Pakistan. Bangladesh are scheduled to play in a short series, involving a One-day International on April 29 and a Twenty20 International on April 30 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. But the local newspapers have criticised Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief Mustafa Kamal`s decision to tour the troubled nation. PTI