Tigers to play T20Is against hosts UAE ahead of mega event

Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates will play a two-match T20I series later this month in Dubai, announced the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) today.

The BCB took the initiative to arrange the "SKYEXCH UAE v Bangladesh Friendship series" as part of the Tigers' preparation leading into the T20 World Cup, slated for mid-October.

The two T20Is will be played on September 25 and September 27 at the Dubai International Stadium.   

"This tour will be an important part of the Bangladesh team's lead up to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia," Nizamuddin Chowdhury, the CEO of the BCB, told reporters today.

Bad weather had hampered Bangladesh team's training session in Mirpur of late. The BCB CEO explained why the UAE tour was arranged since the upcoming World Cup is set to be played in contrasting conditions compared to the ones in UAE.  

"Actually, the bigger issue than the condition is that... even in this condition [of Bangladesh] we didn't get a chance to practice because of the weather. That is why this plan [UAE tour] has been made.

"Also, practice surrounding actual match situations is more important than the playing conditions. And you know about the facilities that Dubai has on the ground. So we will be able to derive benefits from the facilities of Dubai Sports City," Nizamuddin said.