Australia withdraws from U-19 WC citing security concerns

Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland revealed that they had received advice from the govt, who suggested that there was a high threat to his country's players in Bangladesh

Australia have pulled out of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh due to security and safety concerns in the country.

Confirming the news, Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland revealed that they had received advice from the government, who suggested that there was a high threat to his country's players in Bangladesh.

"For some time we have been working closely with ICC security advisors and monitoring the security situation in Bangladesh and have been keeping our players, officials and the players' parents as up to date as possible," Sutherland said.

"Regrettably, the advice from our Government suggests that the security threat to Australians travelling to Bangladesh remains as high now as it was when we postponed the Test team's tour of that country late last year," Sutherland was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

CA further apologized to the organizers for the inconvenience that happened due to the withdrawal, adding that they had reaffirmed their desire to play cricket in Bangladesh as soon as possible.

Australia were in Group D of the Under-19 World Cup along with India, Nepal and New Zealand. The tournament will commence from January 27.