The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday reaffirmed its decision not to play its T20 World Cup matches in India, accepting.
That the stance could lead to Bangladesh being expelled from the tournament. The boycott threat was discussed during a high-level meeting involving BCB officials, national team players and interim government sports adviser Asif Nazrul.
The decision comes a day after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Bangladesh’s request to move its fixtures from India to Sri Lanka, insisting the tournament would proceed as scheduled. The ICC said there was no credible security threat to Bangladeshi players in India.
Sources told India Today that Bangladesh had been given 24 hours to consult its government and reconsider its position. Despite the ultimatum, the BCB said its long-standing concerns over player safety remained unresolved. Nazrul accused the ICC of failing to address Bangladesh’s security fears.
“The ICC has not served us justice,” he said. “This is not just about cricket. We will not compromise on the security of our players.” Bangladesh are drawn in Group C with England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies and are scheduled to play three matches in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. The 16-team tournament begins on February 7.
Bangladesh had asked for their matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka, which is part of the tournament’s hybrid hosting model.
The ICC is now likely to replace Bangladesh with Scotland if the withdrawal is confirmed. In a statement, the ICC said it had engaged in “sustained and constructive dialogue” with the BCB, sharing independent security assessments, venue-level security plans and formal assurances from host authorities. All assessments, it said, found no credible or verifiable threat.
‘Not assumptions’
Nazrul said Bangladesh’s concerns were based on real incidents, citing the withdrawal of Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League after Kolkata Knight Riders reportedly received threats from political groups opposing the presence of Bangladeshi players.
“These concerns are not assumptions,” he said. “One of our top players was removed from the IPL under pressure from extremists. Now the World Cup is being held in the same country.” He added that responsibility for security would rest with Indian authorities, not the ICC.
BCB vice-president Animul Islam Bulbul said the board would continue to press the ICC for a review, though prospects of a reversal appeared slim. “We asked for an alternative venue on January 4 and explained our security concerns,” Bulbul said. “Sri Lanka is part of the hybrid model, and we are willing to play there. We will continue to put our case forward.”
Unless the ICC agrees to a venue change, Bangladesh’s absence from the T20 World Cup now appears increasingly likely.
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