Australia scraps Bangladesh tour [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Australia scraps Bangladesh tour

Local October 02, 2015

Australia called off a two-Test tour of Bangladesh on Thursday, citing terrorism fears after official warnings militants may attack Western interests.
Cricket Australia said that advice from the country’s security and intelligence organisation and department of foreign affairs about an increased risk for the team meant this month’s matches could not proceed.
CA chief executive James Sutherland said an independent security assessment confirmed the ‘risk of terrorism in Bangladesh targeting Australian nationals’.
‘We have decided that, regrettably, we have no alternative but to postpone the tour,’ Sutherland said.
Australia had been scheduled to depart Sunday for the first Test starting October 9 in Chittagong.
Bangladesh had tried to keep the tour alive insisting that the players would be given the level of security usually reserved for visiting heads of state, with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan saying the ‘highest security protocol’ would be provided.
Nazmul Hassan, the Bangladesh Cricket Board president, expressed sadness at the decision, insisting that measures to tighten security should have satisfied any safety concerns.
‘Many countries face this kind of terrorist threat but it never stops cricket,’ he told reporters in Dhaka.
‘With the kind of blanket security that we had offered them, I can’t see how they would have faced any problems.’
However, the death of an Italian aid worker in Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter — shot three times on Monday night in a murder claimed by Islamic State group — had escalated fears.
‘We had hoped that the security concerns would fade, but unfortunately the advice we have received from government, our own security experts and independent security advisors has clearly indicated that there are now high risks to our people should they make the trip,’ Sutherland said.
‘We have worked tirelessly to try to find a way for the tour to proceed, but in the end it was simply not possible,’ he said.
CA said it would work with the BCB to try to reschedule the tour which had been expected to be closely-fought after the hosts recently claimed a series of high-profile scalps on home soil.
‘Bangladesh is clearly on the rise as a cricketing nation and our new-look Australian team was looking forward to the challenge of playing this series. The circumstances that led to the decision to cancel the tour are bigger than the game of cricket,’ Sutherland said.
‘Where there are elements that are beyond our control – as there are in this case – the importance of player safety is brought sharply into focus, and this is absolutely paramount.’
BCB president Hassan said: ‘Bangladesh cricket has been going through a very good period so this kind of development, coming at this time, is sad and unfortunate.’
International schools in Bangladesh were closed on Tuesday while Western embassies restricted their diplomats’ movements.
The British Foreign Office warned against attending gatherings of westerners in Bangladesh due to ‘reliable information’ militants may be planning to target Westerners.
The US embassy in Dhaka said its diplomats would be barred from attending international hotels and advised citizens to follow suit.
Bangladesh sees itself as a moderate Muslim country. But the gruesome killings of four atheist bloggers this year rocked the nation and sparked a crackdown on hardline Islamist groups.