Michael Clarke says Australian players want Bangladesh tour to proceed

Former Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke believes the players want to tour Bangladesh for the Test series.

The Australian team delayed its departure to Bangladesh on Saturday after being warned by its government that there was a potential security risk from militants.

On Friday, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warned there was "reliable information to suggest that militants may be planning to target Australian interests in Bangladesh", Cricket Australia reported.

Clarke was asked if the players still wanted to visit Bangladesh in a broadcast of Wide World of Sports.

"I'm pretty sure they would," Cricket Australia website quoted Clarke as saying on Sunday.

"A lot of the time as a player you leave decisions like this up to the experts," he said.

In cases like this, the decision is likely to be taken by DFAT, CA, Australian Cricketers' Association, he added.

Clarke, who signed off from international cricket after the last Ashes Test this summer, thinks it is crucial that cricketers play in different conditions around the world.

CA Head of Security Sean Carroll is in Bangladesh to report back after meeting with Bangladeshi officials and assessing the risk, reported Reuters.

Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board Chief Executive Nizam Uddin Chowdhury said in a media statement on Saturday that he understood Australia's concern but was sure the team would be safe and the tour would go ahead.

He was confident that the tour would commence with minimum delay.

Australia have not played a Test in Bangladesh for a decade but were scheduled to play back-to-back Tests in Chittagong and Dhaka in October.