Bangladesh still hopeful of series with Australia, ready to provide VVIP security

New Delhi: While Australia cricket team's tour to Bangladesh is all but over, the hosts have still not lost hopes of hosting a series amid security fears.

In a statement issued by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the board expressed unhappiness at the apparent attempt by certain quarters in trying to project Bangladesh as an unsafe place based on unsubstantiated and vastly exaggerated data or incidents which have no relevance to cricket or the Bangladesh-Australia Test series.

In the statement, BCB president Nazmul Hassan said that VVIP security would be given to the Aussies which is unprecedented for any international team.

“We have left no stone unturned in providing assurance regarding security for the Australian team. 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," he said.

Hassan added that Bangladesh is looking forward to some cricketing action between the two teams.

“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. The cricketers, fans and everyone associated with cricket deserve that," he added.

Earlier, Australia`s Test cricketers were sent back to their home states to train while awaiting a decision on whether their tour of Bangladesh will proceed amid increasing security concerns.

The team was scheduled to depart on Monday for a two-Test series but was told to stay back after the Australian government warned of a potential security risk from militants in the Asian nation.