Pakistan tour of Bangladesh postponed

Dhaka, March 5 : The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Thursday announced that it has postponed Pakistan's cricket tour to the country scheduled to start later this week.

"The Bangladesh Cricket Board has postponed Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh 2009 as advised by the government authorities," the BCB said in a brief statement.

"A fresh itinerary will be announced later."

The Pakistan cricket team was due to reach Dhaka Saturday to play two Twenty20 matches and five One-Day Internationals March 10-22.

The BCB did not say why the tour had been postponed or when it will take place, Star Online said.

The decision to call off the tour comes two days after the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by gunmen in Lahore, which injured seven players and the team's assistant coach. The attack also left eight people dead.

Dhaka itself witnessed a mutiny by troopers of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), the border guards, in which over a hundred army officers and several civilians were killed.

Pakistan and Bangladesh are co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup along with India and Sri Lanka.

--IANS