The Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh is due to go ahead later this month despite three-time winners Australia pulling out due to “security threats”.

Cricket Australia, the sport’s national governing body, released a statement earlier today (5 January) to confirm that its under-19 side would not take part in the tournament following advice from head of security, Sean Carroll, and the Australian government.

Chief executive of Cricket Australia, James Sutherland, said that the body had been working with International Cricket Council (ICC) security advisors and monitoring the security situation in Bangladesh “for some time”.

“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,” he added.

Last October Australia pulled out of its tour of Bangladesh after an Italian charity worker was shot dead in the capital Dhaka, with the so-called Islamic State taking responsibility. The final, and many of the preceding matches, are due to be played in Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

However, ICC chief executive David Richardson queried the decision, claiming that the advice the ICC received from its own and independent security experts together with the “robust security plan that has been developed” meant that it was “appropriate for event planning to continue as scheduled”.

“Naturally, as part of that planning process, the ICC’s own security team, supported by an independent security agency, will continue to monitor closely the situation in Bangladesh, including all travel advisories provided by relevant government agencies,” said Richardson.

Ireland, the runner-up in the qualifying event for the tournament, has been invited to take Australia’s place in the event which will run between 27 January and 14 February.

None of the other 15 nations due to compete have declined to take part thus far. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) would not make an official comment about whether it was considering the participation of England’s under-19s, although Sports Management understands that the team is preparing as planned.

“The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is an extremely important event on the ICC calendar, which has a reputation of producing international stars,” added Richardson. “We remain confident that the ICC, in conjunction with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), will be able to successfully deliver this event in Bangladesh.”