Calcutta: Bharat Arun fears that Bengal may be short on match practice in the lead-up to the Ranji Trophy if their proposed tour of Sri Lanka is called off.

“There has been no official intimation from the CAB on the tour. If it doesn’t happen then we will be short on match practice… We will have to work out something and play at least three-four games a fortnight before the start of the tournament,” Arun told The Telegraph on Thursday.

The tour to play some practice matches has hit a roadblock after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) informed the Cricket Association of Bengal that they won’t bear any expenses. The CAB was keen on an exchange tour, but the SLC wasn’t interested. The CAB has now sought an estimate from SLC depending upon which a decision will be taken.

“Those matches will be important because it will help us assess how far we’ve progressed and then take it from there,” Arun added.

CAB XI crashed out of the Moin-ud Dowlah Cup in Hyderabad losing to Saurashtra XI in a rain-marred match. If the Sri Lanka tour doesn’t materialise, Bengal will not have any more scheduled practice matches before their Ranji opener in November.

Arun sounded satisfied with the Bengal youngsters in his first tournament as coach. “Wriddhiman Saha excelled behind the stumps, Anustup Majumder got it right a little late and has a good future, Iresh Saxena also did well… Actually you can’t judge a player from ten overs in a one-day match.

“The transition from the under-age tournaments to the Ranji level is huge. We’re working on some specific techniques and hopefully it will pay dividends,” said the Bengal coach.