The CEO of Cricket Australia, James Sutherland, has announced tonight that Australia’s month-long Qantas Tour of Bangladesh has been postponed due to safety concerns.
The 15-man team was scheduled to fly to Bangladesh last Monday, but were stopped due to the Department of Foreign Affairs receiving ‘reliable’ information about a potential security risk.
Sutherland expressed ‘deep regret’ for the postponing of the month-long international tour, but said it that the safety of the Australian players and staff was the top priority:
“After six days of extensive deliberations and research, we’ve come to the conclusion that we have no other alternative than to postpone our tour to Bangladesh. It’s a very disappointing outcome from our perspective.”“Six days ago we were informed by ASIO and our Department of Foreign Affairs that there was a credible risk to Australians in Bangladesh and we’ve worked through a rigorous process to try and understand that.”“In the end, all things considered, we’ve made this decision to postpone the tour for now and we’ll enter into discussions with the Bangladesh Cricket Board about when we can play this cricket series next.”
Sutherland had nothing but praise for the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the Bangladesh government, saying their co-operation over the past six days “has been nothing short of outstanding”.
“We’ve had three people on the ground meeting with Bangladesh Cricket, Bangladesh government sources and members of our foreign affairs department in Bangladesh.”“It’s not really appropriate for me to go into specific detail on this. But all I can say is that the threats were credible and real and targeted, not only against Westerners but against Australians.”
Instead, team members will play in the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup, in Sydney on Monday.
Image via Getty.
