Australia name strong squad for Bangladesh tour

Pace spearhead Mitchell Starc will miss the upcoming tour of Bangladesh after Cricket Australia on Friday confirmed the two-Test series and announced a 13-man squad, reports Cricket Australia.

After arriving in Bangladesh on August 18, Australia’s first hit out of the tour will be a two-day warm-up match four days later in Fatullah before the first Test in Dhaka on August 27 and the second Test in Chittagong on September 4.

The tour comes after a previously planned visit in October 2015 was postponed at the last minute by security concerns. Executive General Manager of Team Performance, Pat Howard, said CA was happy with the current security arrangements, which have been promised to be at levels akin to a presidential or royal visit.

“The Bangladesh Cricket Board and the Bangladesh Government have provided satisfactory levels of assurance and security for this tour to proceed at this stage, and we’re very grateful to them for this,” said Howard.

“We will continue to work with them to finalise plans but also monitor advice from Government agencies and our own security advisors about the security risk. Our number one priority will always be the safety and security of our players and support staff when travelling to any country.

“Players selected for this tour will continue to receive regular security status updates prior to travelling.

“Selectors have also chosen this Bangladesh squad irrespective and independent of the status of the (Memorandum of Understanding). We are working towards a resolution being in place by 30 June and look forward to continuing to support these players to perform at their very best on the global stage.”

AUSTRALIA TEST SQUAD:
Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Wade

FIXTURES
18 August Australia arrive
22-23 August Tour match, Fatullah
27-31 August First Test, Dhaka
4-8 September Second Test, Chittagong