Australia’s cricketers have been promised levels of security normally afforded to Heads of State as fears continue to grow that their delayed tour of Bangladesh could be called off.
– Bangladesh: Australia staff leave Dhaka with tour in doubt
– Bangladesh: Tour hold due to safety and security concerns
– Elsewhere: Pakistan look to Bilal for variation in UAE
Australia were due to depart for the two-Test series on Monday, however, those plans were put on hold indefinitely following advice from the Australian Government.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann suggested on Wednesday that a decision on whether the tour would go ahead was likely to be made “in the next 24 hours”.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board remain hopeful the tour will take place and, after discussions with a Cricket Australia security delegation earlier this week, their president Nazmul Hassan revealed an unprecedented level of security for a touring nation would be supplied.
“We have left no stone unturned in providing assurance regarding security for the Australian team,” Hassan said in a BCB statement.
“The Bangladesh Government has committed additional security on top of the substantial and elaborate arrangements in the BCB’s standard Security Plan for international cricket.
“For the team (Australia) the level has been confirmed as VVIP which is equivalent to security accorded to Head of States and is unprecedented for any international side.
“We are still hopeful that a fresh date for arrival of its team will be declared by CA and we will see some exciting cricket on the ground soon.”
Lehmann told an Australia radio station that time was running out for the tour to get the green light with his players having already been told to train with their state squads ahead of the start of their domestic season.
“It’s getting pretty tight now, to be honest,” Lehmann told media.
“At the end of the day we have to wait and see what the boards and the security come up with, but we have to make the right decision for player and staff safety.
UPDATE: Aussie Test players have been instructed to re-join their state squads: http://t.co/pylMCAFp1V pic.twitter.com/0Sy1o4gE1q
— cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) September 30, 2015
“We’re still on hold. The security guys got back from Bangladesh today so they’re obviously speaking to the board as we speak. Hopefully we come to some sort of answer in the next 24 hours or so.”
Bangladesh has hosted Test cricket since 2000 without a major security incident and in the BCB statement the governing body said it was “dismayed at the apparent attempt by certain quarters in trying to project Bangladesh as an unsafe place”.
The statement added: “It is worth mentioning that during the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh 2014 (March-April 2014), when the risk which was assessed by Australia was of a higher level to what is at present, safety and security was successfully provided to 24 men’s and women’s teams including the Australian men’s and women’s squads as well as to officials and guests who arrived for the event.”
The first Test is scheduled to get under way on October 9 at Chittagong.
