The West Indies Cricket Board’s decision of pulling out its Under-19 team from the Bangladesh tour has started taking its toll with Australia saying it would seek advice from the government on whether to send its men’s and women’s teams in the forthcoming ICC World Twenty20 next year. A spokesman for Cricket Australia told Agence France-Presse that the board would seek its own government’s advice on the security situation, but a decision on whether to go to Bangladesh would be made much later.
Australia and the West Indies both refused to play in Sri Lanka during the ICC 1996 50-over World Cup after a bomb went off in Colombo, killing 91 people, shortly before the tournament began.
After a blast outside the team hotel, which injured none, the West Indies Cricket Board decided to pull out their Under-19 team, leaving a black spot on Bangladesh’s reputation as safe hosts unlike its South Asian neighbours.
Players’ body Federation of International Cricketers’ Association said on Tuesday that it will send an independent security team to review the situation before advising players on whether they should deem the country safe.
‘We will continue to monitor the threat levels between now and the start of the tournament and will keep players informed as to the situation,’ FICA executive chairman Paul Marsh told AFP.
‘As is always the case with security issues, we will ensure that the safety of our players is paramount in our decision-making. There is, however more than three months until the event starts and as such we do not need to be making any decisions at this time.’
Meanwhile in Sri Lanka, cricket authorities said they were closely monitoring developments.
‘We are doing an independent security review,’ Sri Lanka Cricket secretary Nishantha Ranatunga told AFP. ‘Once we have a report, we will take a call on whether to go ahead or not.
‘We are in talks with the Bangladesh [Cricket] board. We have to be very careful.’
Sri Lanka are scheduled to play two Tests, two one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals starting January 27 in Bangladesh.
-With New Age input
