That the stand had begun to frustrate Bangladesh became evident when tempers flared in the final hour, with Litton Das taking exception to Rizwan slowing play down after disturbances from the sightscreen. The contest took on a distinct edge, but the Pakistan pair did not lose focus, inching their way towards stumps.

No more wickets might have given Bangladesh a sleepless night, but Taijul put them at ease. With Nahid Rana operating with a new ball from the other end, Taijul produced an arm delivery that skidded through Agha’s defences and knocked back his stumps, prompting wild celebrations from the hosts, who understood the importance of the moment. Hasan Ali, whom Rizwan curiously decided against shielding from the strike, posed little resistance, leaving Bangladesh just three wickets adrift.

Brief scores:
Pakistan 232 and 316 for 7 (Shan Masood 71, Babar Azam 47, Salman Agha 71, Mohammad Rizwan 75*;   Taijul Islam 4-113, Nahid Rana 2-58)  need another 121 runs to beat Bangladesh 278 and 390

[Cricinfo]

But the ICC has a track record of reprimanding SLC because of perceived government interference. In 2023, SLC was suspended over “extensive government interference” and, in 2015, the ICC had also frozen payments over a previous “interim committee” having been appointed by the then government.

This current committee, however, has said its goals were to replace SLC’s archaic constitution, before making way for a new set of elected officials.

The ICC has so far made no comments on the change of administration at SLC.

The committee, formally unveiled on April 30, has nine members, including Kumar Sangakkara, Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama. The majority of the members, though, hail from corporate, legal, and political spheres, with former member of parliament Eran Wickramaratne appointed as chair.

“Our immediate priority is a total overhaul of the governance framework at SLC,” Wettimuny had said after the committee members were named. “The cornerstone of this effort will be the implementation of the new constitution, ensuring it serves as a robust, modern foundation for the sport.”

The committee’s second priority would be to ensure “excellence on the field,” Wickramaratne had said. “We will focus on establishing the structures, world-class facilities, and incentive models necessary to empower our national teams. Our goal is to enable our players to consistently deliver world-class performances and elevate Sri Lanka back to the top tier of international rankings.”

[Cricinfo]

There are still some final discussions to be had at government level before the game can be locked in.

CA could potentially buy the game off the host club to take control of the fixture in India. There would also be a knock-on effect to the schedule given the distances involved, and the need to give players enough preparation time beforehand. There are no direct flights from Australia to Chennai but there are from Melbourne to Delhi and Sydney to Bangalore that take 11-12 hours. There are flight paths with one stopover to Chennai that take roughly 13 hours. Then, players also need recovery time on their return home before their next game. Chennai is also prone to flooding in December due to the wet season.

Whether the game is played during the day remains to be seen as day games are better for Australian broadcast windows with IPL day matches starting at 8pm AEST. IPL night matches start at 12am AEST.

In Australian sport, the NRL takes matches to Las Vegas to launch the rugby league season. However, that tournament is played over six months, while the BBL is completed in a seven-week window from mid-December to the end of January.

Ravichandran Ashwin,  a former CSK player, was due to be the first India international to feature in the BBL this season, having signed for Sydney Thunder, but withdrew due to a knee injury.

There are a number of clubs interested in playing in the game. It is understood Thunder and the two Melbourne clubs Stars and Renegades are open to playing in Chennai among others. One club would need to play as the “home” team which would reduce their home fixtures in Australia to just four which has flow-on effects to membership and ticket revenue.

Renegades are already looking at a hybrid home venue model for the upcoming season after their agreement with Marvel Stadium (Docklands) ended earlier this year. They are considering playing at multiple venues including GMHBA Stadium in Geelong, the MCG and the Junction Oval which is the home of Victoria’s high performance centre just south of Melbourne’s CBD. Floodlights are being installed at Junction Oval during the off-season that will be ready to use next summer but the ground only holds a maximum of 6000 people.

The news is separate from the BBL privatization debate that continues to bubble in Australia. The six states are split on a proposal to introduce private investment into the eight franchises. CA is pushing ahead to test the market with three clubs, Renegades, Perth Scorchers and Hobart Hurricanes to see what valuations might come back from prospective investors. Meanwhile, discussions are ongoing with New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia. NSW and Queensland have said no to the initial proposal while SA were keen for others to test the market first before going ahead.

NSW are continuing discussions with CA around an alternative model that they are proposing to avoid private investment. NSW are adamant that CA can raise revenue significantly to improve their profit and loss position and pay the players more money to play in the BBL by making adjustments within the current structure without introducing outside or foreign ownership into Australian cricket.

[Cricinfo]