BCB confident of Taskin, Arafat getting action cleared

The Bangladesh Cricket Board is confident of Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny getting their bowling actions cleared before the home series against England in October. Both bowlers have already been named in the 30-man preliminary squad for the series. The BCB's media committee chairman Jalal Yunus on Saturday (August 20) revealed that the duo is likely to have their action tested in Brisbane on September 8.

"The test date is most probably September 8 in Brisbane," Yunus said. "If that happens, we are hoping to get him [Taskin] cleared in the following 10-12 days. We are hopeful about him in the test, we feel that he has rectified his bowling action."

Bangladesh were dealt a blow during the World Twenty20 earlier this year in India when Taskin and Arafat received suspensions but they still went on to play domestic cricket. Head coach Chandika Hathurusingha and former India spinner Venkatapathy Raju, who is in Bangladesh for a short coaching stint, have worked with Sunny and according to Yunus, they are both confident of the left-arm spinner getting his action cleared. "Arafat Sunny worked with Venkatapathy Raju and Chandika Hathurusingha recently," he said.

"They are convinced that Sunny is ready for the ICC assessment along with Taskin's. The two might go to Brisbane together."

Yunus also admitted that Sanjit Saha, who got his action cleared by the BCB's bowling-action review committee recently, will have to clear a separate test conducted by the International Cricket Council. "Sanjit Saha's action has changed considerably, and he is bowling within four-five degrees," he said. "Whether he will remain effective will be visible only when he starts playing matches. He can play domestic cricket but in order to play international cricket, he will first need to clear ICC's assessment."

Meanwhile, the England and Wales Cricket Board's three-member delegation has completed the security assessment in Bangladesh. Venues and hotels in Mirpur, Chittagong and Fatullah were inspected by the delegation.

"We will know whether it was a positive tour for them when they report back to the ECB. They will decide only then. They visited all the hotels and ground facilities, and were briefed about security," Yunus said."There's no time frame, and we won't put any pressure. They took everything quite seriously here, and spoke to nearly everyone, including the country's security intelligence. They were given a detailed security plan at the home ministry."

England's tour of Bangladesh, which includes two Tests and three One-Day Internationals, is scheduled to start on September 30.