Bangabandhu National Stadium to host 2011 WC opening ceremony: state minister............

The Bangabandhu National Stadium will play host to the opening ceremony of the 2011 ICC World Cup on Feb. 19, the state minister for sports said Tuesday.

Considering the cost, the opening match of the biggest cricket extravaganza may be held at the Mirpur Stadium, Ahad Ali Sarker hinted.

Sarkar also put to rest the raging debate over whether the opening match should be held at the BNS or Mirpur Stadium.

"I've talked to the prime minister and we want to hold the opening ceremony at the Bangabandhu Stadium".

The ICC on Feb. 17 decided to stage both the inaugural match and the opening ceremony in Dhaka, as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will co-host the tournament.

With the ICC's insistence on holding the opening match and the ceremony at the same venue on the same day, staging the opening match at the BNS appears problematic, as it is meant exclusively for football events.

"Look, there will be some problems if you want to play a cricket match on a football ground," the state minister said.

"You need to change turf, which costs a lot."

Bangladesh Cricket Board senior vice president Mahbub Anam earlier said they had proposed to the ICC to stage the opening match a day after the opening ceremony.

If the ICC agrees, the opening ceremony and the opening match can be held at two venues on two consecutive days, Anam said.