Pakistan set to host first cricket tour since 2009 as Bangladesh agree plan

The UAE has hosted Pakistan's matches since the gun attack on Sri Lanka's team bus in 2009 amid security fears from other nations.

Pakistan fans at Dubai's International Cricket Stadium for the Test between Pakistan and England in January 2012.
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Bangladesh are set to become the first team to play international cricket in Pakistan since the 2009 gun attack on Sri Lanka's team bus after agreeing a tour early next year.

Pakistan have played their games away from home since the attack on Sri Lanka, with the majority of matches being played in the UAE for almost four years.

Foreign sides refused to tour the country over security concerns, with games being played in the Emirates since then - including series against England and Australia this year.

Bangladesh had accepted an invitation to tour Pakistan last April for limited-over series, but saw it blocked on security grounds.

However, officials have said they see no judicial bar to the latest tour which Bangladesh officials say is expected to include a combination of 50-over and Twenty20 internationals.

"We have in principle agreed to tour Pakistan. It's a commitment made by former BCB (Bangladesh Cricket Board) president Mustafa Kamal. We are keeping his word," said Enayet Husain Siraj, the board's head of cricket operations.

"The tour is subject to security clearance," he added.

In October Pakistan successfully hosted two Twenty20 exhibition matches involving a group of largely retired stars from South Africa, the West Indies, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

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