Cricket Australia (CA), which was scheduled to host Bangladesh during August and September this year, has decided to scrap the upcoming series, terming the tie as commercially ‘inviable’.
The decision to scrap the Bangladesh series came due to the intersecting football season in Australia. Therefore, Bangladesh, who last toured Australia back in 2003, must wait for their chance to visit Down Under again.
It was last year when Australia toured Bangladesh for a two-match Test series which was shared by the two sides at 1-1.
Further, Bangladesh was slated to play two Tests and three one-dayers Down Under in August-September.
“We commit to content in other parts of the world under the previous or current cycle, every six years you are at least committed to playing away,” CA Chief James Sutherland told Espncricinfo.
“But we don’t have to play at home, or we can vary the programme at home according to our needs, and I think we just got squeezed a little bit,” explained Sutherland.
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Sutherland cited out the experimentation of playing cricket, coinciding with the football season, hasn’t quite worked out in the past.
As the board incurred a substantial loss hosting cricket in Northern Australia during the time of the month.
Bangladesh hasn’t toured Australia since 2003
The decision to scrap the upcoming series out of the FTP, came before CA signed a $1 Billion deal with Fox networks for the broadcast right, breaking their four-decade-long association with Channel Nine.
“To be honest, it hasn’t been a great success, playing in the past as we have in northern Australia. Even more so now with the rise of the profile of the football codes,” continued the CA lynchpin.
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“Particularly NRL and AFL. it just means we get swamped, and it doesn’t make sense. Besides the huge cost to play up there and getting broadcasters. what have you to pick it up. It just makes it difficult,” concluded CA Chief James Sutherland.