Bangladesh football star Hamza Chowdhury was scheduled to visit the Home of Cricket on Wednesday. The Leicester City midfielder was also set to meet national cricketers and attend their training session ahead of the two-match Test series against Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
However, Hamza could not make the visit as the Bangladesh squad was already on the clock for their scheduled practice session. As per the itinerary, the Test squad had a three-hour training session from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
As per sources, as everyone was waiting for Hamza’s arrival that briefly delayed proceedings by around 10 minutes following the cricketers warm-up and a light football session. During this time, the fourth meeting of the BCB Ad Hoc Committee was also scheduled for 2.00 PM.
However, Hamza, who was expected to arrive a little later, had by then missed the window as Bangladesh’s batting and bowling drills had already begun. In order to avoid any disruption to the ongoing training, the scheduled interaction was ultimately called off.
According to a Bangladesh Football Federation source, Hamza himself was also understood to be keen not to interfere with the team’s preparation. Upon reaching near the venue and assessing the situation, he decided to return without attending the session.
A source within the Bangladesh Cricket Board told Times of Bangladesh: “The whole programme and initiative was dealt with by the BCB president Tamim Iqbal. As the practice and board meeting were on the clock, Hamza was late for the Home of Cricket. That’s why he had to go back as the practice had already begun.”
Hamza is currently in Dhaka on a short personal trip and is expected to attend national team nets in between his commercial commitments.
