Source - Cricket Australia

Australia have pulled out of the ICC Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh due to concerns over player safety, according to reports. Australia's senior men's side postponed their scheduled tour of Bangladesh in October due to security concerns and CA have monitored the situation in the country ever since.

Cricket Australia's head of security Sean Carroll met with cricket and government officials in Bangladesh last week before reporting back to CA in Melbourne. Having also consulted with the Australian government, News Ltd is reporting the decision was made to withdraw from the tournament. 

Australia had been named in Group D for the 16-nation tournament due to start in Chittagong on January 27 alongside India, Nepal and New Zealand. The 15-man squad will still travel to Dubai as scheduled this week for a tri-series of matches against New Zealand and Pakistan, with Australia's first match to be on Sunday.

The scheduled departure of Australia's men's team for their October tour was delayed when the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade informed CA they had "reliable information" about a possible security risk. The warning came as somewhat of a surprise given South Africa, India and Pakistan had all toured Bangladesh earlier in the year without incident. But DFAT's warning was quickly replicated this week by the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, who followed suit in warning their citizens of possible militant attacks in Bangladesh. 

CA sent a three-man security delegation to Dhaka to meet with the highest levels of Bangladeshi government and security organisations. After further discussions with the Australian government and the Australian Cricketer's Association, it was decided that the tour would be postponed.