The future of the series was thrown into doubt last week when the tour was put on hold temporarily in the wake of security concerns raised by Australia’s intelligence officials.
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Bangladesh are due to host Australia for the first Test from October 9-13 in Chittagong and the second from October 17-21 in Dhaka.
They returned on Wednesday for further talks with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and to discuss their findings with Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association.
An independent security assessment confirmed a risk of terrorism in Bangladesh targeting Australian nationals.
But they now say that official advice means they had “no alternative but to postpone the tour“. Australian cricketers were supposed to leave for Bangladesh earlier this week, but they were asked to stand-by and were then later on instructed to rejoin their state squads for training while the players waited for the decision.
CA CEO James Sutherland, during a press conference in Brisbane yesterday, noted that the travel advice was for ordinary Australians travelling in Bangladesh, and the Australian cricket team would have extremely high levels of security if the tour went ahead. Given the situation, we have now advised the BCB and the global Cricket Council (ICC) of our decision.
The Australia Test squad will instead play for their sides in the domestic One-Day Cup.
The cancellation of the Bangladesh tour also leaves Australia with little exposure to the longer version of the game before New Zealand arrive for the summer.
Monday’s death of an Italian charity worker in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone, after he was shot three times by attackers who escaped on a motorcycle, didn’t help Bangladesh’s attempts to play down security fears.
Cricket Australia had initially delayed the team’s scheduled departure on 28 September while it worked on a “revised security plan”. “We left no stone unturned in providing assurance regarding security for the Australian team”.
“It is worth mentioning that during the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014, when the risk which was assessed by Australia was of a higher level to what is at present”.
Despite Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) offering foolproof VVIP security, the tour was eventually postponed with no future dates mentioned.
“Obviously the safety and security of the players is the biggest concern”, Smith said on Friday morning.
“We will continue to work with CA in terms of the decisions that follow, and keep supporting the players as the 2015-16 season gets underway”.
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“Some State players became available to make way for the returning Australian Test players, so the CA XI squad has been revised to include a few of these players”.
