CA head of security Sean Carroll is en route to Bangladesh and will provide a safety assessment once he arrives.
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The Australian Government advised Cricket Australia of the risk through its Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
The news seemed to be a shock for the Bangladesh Cricket Board as its CEO, Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, released a statement outlining their desire to see the tour go ahead.
“Our preferred position is to continue with the tour but the safety and security of our players and our staff is the absolute priority”.
“We are surprised, because the situation in Bangladesh is very calm”, he said.
DFAT, which supplies journey recommendation to Australians planning to go overseas, issued a recent one on Bangladesh on Friday. “Australian officers in Bangladesh have been suggested to restrict their actions in public locations”, the DFAT advisory stated. “When the time comes and we’ve laid it all out and if people are still very nervous, we’ll be wary of that”, Howard concluded.
The advice related to the safety of Australian citizens, rather than of the cricket team specifically.
Dhaka: Home Minister on Monday said all sorts of security measures will be taken ahead of Bangladesh-Australia Test series and if needed VVIP security will be ensured for the cricket team.
“I have said that they can speak to any security agency they want to”.
“They have information that Australian interest is under threat but that is not confined to Bangladesh, it is also in other neighbouring countries”, Hassan told.
CA outlined it is not known if the matches will go ahead as scheduled.
“This is not one of the ones you want to get wrong”.
“If they’re saying lets hold the guys’ travel off for a few extra days, that shouldn’t affect the tour at all”.
“For the game we need to see teams be able to travel the world and play in all different conditions”.
Since then, Pakistan have been forced to play their home matches in the United Arab Emirates. “We are hoping things will be sorted out quickly”.
Asked whether the Test series was on or off, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hasan, who attended the meeting, said, “Can’t say anything specific right now”.
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“In the meantime we are working with the ACA (Australian Cricketers Association) and keeping our players and support staff fully informed”.
