Australia captain Smith disappointed over postponement of Bangladesh tour

Australia's new captain Steven Smith has expressed disappointment at the postponement of their Bangladesh tour.

Smith sympathises with the BCB and Bangladesh fans but has no doubts about the need for Cricket Australia's decision prompted by security concerns.

"Obviously the safety and security of the players is the biggest concern," CA website quoted Smith as saying on Friday morning.

CA took the decision of postponing the visit after working closely with DFAT and ASIO over the last week, he said.

The move was announced around 5:15pm BdST on Thursday, ending six days of uncertainty about the two-Test series.

It was supposed to be Smith's first Test series as fulltime captain of a new-look Australian team.

Smith said, they were all looking forward to playing in the subcontinent’s conditions; hence, the disappointment.

"Really disappointing for the Bangladesh fans as well. And the BCB, I really feel for them. They were all looking forward to us coming over to play over there.

"Hopefully we can get an opportunity to postpone [the tour] and get over there in some time."

Australia were supposed to arrive in Bangladesh on Monday to play a two-Test series.

But on Saturday, Cricket Australia suddenly decided to put off the tour following their government's 'reliable information' regarding plans of militant attacks on Australian interests in Bangladesh.

A security delegation was sent to Bangladesh to assess the situation. They were assured the maximum security for the touring Australian team in meetings with intelligence agencies.

During their stay, assailants shot dead an Italian aid worker in Dhaka for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility.

The delegation returned to Australia on Wednesday and briefed government and CA officials.

"The tour of Bangladesh was going to be an important series for our relatively new-look test team heading into the Australian summer, so we're disappointed it won't go ahead," Reuters quoted CA's general manager of team performance Pat Howard saying in a statement on Friday.

Following CA’s decision on Thursday, BCB chief Nazmul Hassan said it was the saddest episode in Bangladesh cricket.

CA Chief Executive James Sutherland said in a statement on Thursday that they 'worked tirelessly' to find a way to continue with the tour as planned but, in the end, it was 'simply not possible'.

"We understand this decision will be very disappointing for the cricket community in Bangladesh," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.