BAN vs AUS 2017: Australia Arrives in Bangladesh Amidst Tight Security 1

The Australian cricket team arrived in Dhaka late on Friday night amidst heavy security for their first ever tour in the nation after more than a decade.

As per the reports in cricket.com.au, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury confirmed that Steve Smith & co arrived at the Dhaka International Airport at 10:50 pm (1650 GMT) under heavy police protection.

“Since the team landed it was given the security as we’ve promised. We are confident everything will go according to our plan,” Nizamuddin Chowdhury was quoted as saying by the AFP.

Around 300 members of the elite police units were present when the Australian team landed at the Hazrat Shahjahal International airport in Dhaka.

“We’ve adequate security arrangements at the airport. We’ve even cleared the road (leading to the team’s hotel),” Inspector Moslem Uddin of the Armed Police Battalion was quoted as saying by the AFP.

There was a huge cloud over the series, and Australia’s arrival came a day after the elite commando unit of Bangladesh held their latest training exercise at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka ahead of the opening Test that will involve heavily armed security personnel landing on the field by helicopter and guided people to safety.

It will be the first time Australia will be playing a Test match on the Bangladesh soil after 2006 when Ricky Ponting’s men toured last. They were even scheduled to play a couple of Tests in Bangladesh in 2015, but the tour had to be called off due to security fears and attacks made by the Muslim extremists. Australia didn’t even send their U-19 team for the World Cup over security concerns.

CA agreed to reschedule the series after Bangladesh promised a heavy security for the postponed tour. Sean Carroll, CA’s security manager Sean Carroll visited the nation at three times in the past year or so and gave a green signal only after he was sure that the security measures taken were full proof.

Carroll has ensured that everything is in proper place once the tour starts. He arrived in Dhaka a bit early to ensure everything was in order for the opening Test.

Arya Chakraborty

A Cricket Freak and a Music Lover. Hearing the name of Sachin Tendulkar still gives him goosebumps and listening to Arjit Singh songs keeps him in the right space. Loves Revolving his life around cricket...