The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has acknowledged that the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNS) in Mirpur, Dhaka is currently not suitable for hosting international cricket.
After the heavy criticism during the recent Bangladesh-Pakistan T20I series, which Bangladesh won, BCB’s cricket operations chairman Nazmul Abedin addressed concerns around the quality of the pitch. He clarified that the board never instructed curators to prepare a slow and low surface.
The SBNS pitch came under fire after both teams struggled to post competitive totals in what turned out to be a low-scoring series. Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson was particularly vocal, labeling the conditions in the first two T20Is as “unacceptable” for international cricket.
Mirpur wicket is not satisfactory: BCB official
Nazmul Abedin admitted the surface was substandard, stating, “I think there was an attempt to make it a sporting wicket, but they couldn’t achieve that. The responsibility lies with those tasked with preparing the pitch. From the board’s side, there was no directive to make it slow and low.”
He further explained the recurring challenges in producing high-quality pitches at the venue: “Whenever we’ve wanted a better wicket, a bouncier one, it often hasn’t happened. The usual explanations point to the nature of the soil, environmental conditions, or the overuse of the surface due to frequent matches.”
“Overall, we accept that the Mirpur wicket is not satisfactory. We need to address this. It might require removing the entire soil base or changing the pitch preparation process. Hopefully, we’ll see improvements in the near future,” he added.
On Wednesday, BCB officials conducted an inspection of the SBNS pitch and facilities. They later held discussions with veteran pitch curator Gamini de Silva, who has overseen the ground for over a decade.
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