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Pakistani cricket team in Bangladesh in 1979–80

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The Pakistan national Team, led by Asif Iqbal, came to Bangladesh for a short tour in January, 1980, in the middle of their long tour of India. Two matches were scheduled, a two-day match at Chittagong. followed by a 3-Day fixture at Dacca. Unortunately, trouble broke out during the Tea break in the second day of the match at Chittagong, and the remainder of the tour was abandoned.

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Unfortunate incident

A section of the crowd entered the ground immediately after the tea break on the second day attacking the Pak players. They were angry over the alleged remarks by some Pak cricketers about the independence of Bangladesh. It is still impossible to verify the truth of the allegation. But the match was instantly called off, and consequently the 3-Day match at Dhaka was cancelled. This was a big disappointment for the Dhaka crowd, as more than 30,000 tickets were already sold.

Uneasy relations

As the tourists left to restart their tour of India, the cricketing relationship between Bangladesh and Pakistan reached a new low. A tour of Pakistan by the Bangladesh team, scheduled for the following month was promptly cancelled. Though, Mushtaq Mohammad led a PIA side in Feb. 1984, it was really the tour of the Omar Quareshi XI, (led by Imran Khan), in Jan 1986, that eventually normalized the relationship. A Bangladeshi team, led by Gazi Ashraf toured Pakistan in March, and the two teams met on their first official ODI on 31 March, in the 2nd Asia Cup.

References

Pakistani cricket team in Bangladesh in 1979–80 Wikipedia