Pakistan likely to tour Bangladesh on July 18

The Pakistan cricket team is likely to arrive in Bangladesh around July 18, according to sources within the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

According to sources, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has drafted the initial schedule and shared it with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The T20I series will begin on July 20, with the second and third matches scheduled for July 22 and 24, respectively. 

All three matches are set to be hosted at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka.Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh is not part of the Future Tours Program (FTP). This series was agreed upon during discussions between senior officials of the PCB and BCB on the sidelines of the ICC Champions Trophy, which is scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan. Currently, the Bangladesh national team is in Pakistan, playing a three-match T20I series in Lahore, with the final match took place on Sunday.

Following this, the team will head to Sri Lanka for a full series comprising two Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is. Bangladesh is expected to return from Sri Lanka on July 16, leaving the players with little time to rest before the home series against Pakistan begins.Paying the price of their continuous downfall, Bangladesh slipped to 10th position in ICC T20 rankings. This was revealed in the latest rankings update on Saturday.Bangladesh of late suffered two series defeats-a shocking 2-1 series defeat to ICC associate nation United Arab Emirates (UAE) and lost another three-match series to Pakistan.

In the process, they lost four straight matches-last two matches against UAE after winning the first one and first two matches against Pakistan.

They started the Pakistan series being ninth in the rankings but the 57-run defeat in the second saw them slip to 10th. Earlier in this month, they slipped to 10th in ODI rankings too.

Bangladesh now lost all five matches they played on Pakistan soil, including the second match. Overall the two teams played 21 matches between them with Pakistan winning 18 and Bangladesh just three.Meanwhile, Pace bowler Shoriful Islam will be sidelined from the cricket for two weeks due to a muscle injury sustained during the second T20 International game against Pakistan on Friday.

"Shoriful sustained an injury while bowling during the second T20 International against Pakistan in Lahore on Friday," National team physio Delowar Hossain Siva said.

"Subsequent medical assessments, including an MRI scan, have revealed a Grade 1 strain of the rectus femoris muscle on his right side," he revealed.
"As a result of the injury, Shoriful has been ruled out of selection for the next two to three weeks to allow for appropriate recovery and rehabilitation under the supervision of the BCB Medical Team."

Bangladesh suffered a 57-rund defeat to Pakistan in the second match and as a result lost the three-match series with a game to spare.

Shoriful, however, was not available for the third and final T20 international against Pakistan.