Bangladesh express surprise at Australia's reluctance, CA insist they want tour to go ahead

James Sutherland insists that Cricket Australia desires for the tour to take place

As news keeps trickling in regarding the Australian team’s sudden reluctance to tour Bangladesh by citing security issues, James Sutherland, Chief Executive of Cricket Australia, has expressed confidence that CA is keen on the tour going ahead as per scheduled. While talking to reporters at Brisbane’s National Cricket Centre, Sutherland stated, "Our position is that we want the tour to go ahead as planned. This has obviously come very suddenly and we've needed to make this response. “

He continued, “Our preferred position is to continue with the tour, but the safety and security of our players and staff is the absolute priority and the first priority for us is to secure that. We'll be endeavouring to get some undertakings and understandings of what the situation is in Bangladesh before making any further decisions in regard to the tour."

The CA Security Manager, Sean Caroll, is expected to visit Bangladesh to meet BCB officials and prepare a report apprising CA of the security status in the country. He is also believed to participate in a succession of meetings with the Australian High Commissioner in Bangladesh, Government of Bangladesh and police officials to enquire about the prevailing situation in the cricket-mad nation.

Astonished at Cricket Australia’s reluctance, no violence in country: BCB

Earlier in the day, Jalal Yunus, Media Chairman, Bangladesh Cricket Board, indicated astonishment surrounding the dramatic sequence of events. He said, "We are very surprised that CA have given this media release. There is no violence in the country, no alerts in the county. We appreciate that they have some concerns though. CA head of security Sean Carroll is coming to Dhaka tomorrow afternoon and he is going to go through the security arrangements. I'm hopeful the tour will take place and there will be no long delay."

Yunus expressed dismay by remembering that under worse circumstances, Bangladesh had successfully hosted the Asia Cup and ICC World T20 after a period of political instability. He said that the atmosphere in the country was one of celebration with Eid holidays coming to an end and the local population were waiting with bated breath for an intriguing test series against the touring Australians.

Invoking the advisory issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Cricket Australia had released a statement yesterday expressing that the national tour of Bangladesh was put on hold amidst concerns related to security of the Aussie players. DFAT had mentioned from a reliable source of a possible attack on visiting Australians from militants.

The Australian test squad were due to fly out of the country on Monday. But, the sudden turn of events has placed a question mark on whether the tour might be held as planned. Since the tightly packed two test series is scheduled to begin with a warm-up match on October 3, the chances of a drastic shift in the playing venues appear minimal.