The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is adamant on their stance that the national cricket team will not participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be held India. The decision was taken following a meeting between Bangladesh board, World Cup-bound cricketers and government’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul in Dhaka on Thursday.
The BCB requested International Cricket Council (ICC) to move all their World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka citing security threat to their national cricket team. Earlier in January, the issue escalated when Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was removed from Indian Premier League (IPL). Rahman was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 9.2 crore in IPL mini-auction.
“We will continue to communicate with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we won’t play in India. We will keep fighting. There were some shocking calls in the ICC Board Meeting. The Mustafizur issue is not an isolated single issue. They (India) were the sole decision makers in that issue,” said Bangladesh Cricket Board President Aminul Islam Bulbul.
“It will be their loss … ICC is calling Sri Lanka co-hosts. They are not co-hosts. It is a hybrid model. Some of the things I heard in the ICC meeting was shocking,” BCB presiden further added.
On Wednesday, 21 January, Jay Shah-led ICC rejected BCB’s request to shift their team’s T20 World Cup fixtures to Sri Lanka, saying the matches will proceed as per schedule.
The world cricket body confirmed there was no credible threat to the safety of Bangladesh players, officials or fans at any of the tournament venues in India.
The decision was taken at an ICC Board meeting held via video conference, which was convened to discuss the situation after the BCB raised concerns and sought a change in venues.
“The ICC Board noted that relocating matches under the present circumstances could jeopardise the sanctity of ICC events and undermine the organisation’s neutrality as a global governing body,” the ICC said in a statement.
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