Dhaka: England’s one-day international cricket side arrived in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka yesterday amid huge security for a three-match series, officials said.
The visiting side landed at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport shortly before 9pm and was immediately surrounded by a big security presence, police said.
“Huge number of security personnel were deployed here at the airport for the visiting England side,” said airport police chief Nur-e-Azam.
“In addition to regular security forces, members of other forces including the elite Rapid Action Battalion and police were deployed in providing security to the visiting side,” he said.
Hossain Imam, chief security consultant of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, confirmed that the visiting side was escorted to a hotel under heavy protection.
Bangladesh authorities had earlier promised England’s cricketers “unprecedented security” in a desperate attempt to prevent the country from becoming a no-go zone for international sport.
England’s tour, which also comprises two Tests, was thrown into doubt after an attack on a cafe in Dhaka in July that killed 18 foreigners, many of whom were mostly hacked to death, by suspected Islamist militants.
Some members of the England Test team will arrive in the coming days.
After their own security expert carried out an assessment in Bangladesh, the England Cricket Board decided to go ahead with a month-long tour that begins with a one-day warm-up match on October 4.