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DHAKA: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday reiterated that the team will not travel to India for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 despite the International Cricket Council (ICC) verdict.
The decision was taken by Bangladesh’s Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul following a meeting with the national team players and board officials.
“There is no scope to change our decision. We are not giving up yet. Our team is ready, and we still hope that the ICC will deliver justice. We want the ICC to take our genuine security risk into consideration and allow us to play in Sri Lanka,” he told reporters.
“There has been no change in the security risk situation regarding playing in India at present. This concern is not based on any abstract or hypothetical idea; rather, it stems from a real incident in which the Indian cricket board failed to provide security to one of our top players [Mustafizur Rahman] under pressure from extremists, and he was asked to leave India,” he added.
He highlighted security concerns, noting that the Indian government and cricket apex body have provided no guarantee of players’ safety.
“Since the Indian cricket board is effectively an extended arm of the government and could not ensure the safety of even a single player, no assurance has been given by the ICC or the Indian government that they would be able to guarantee the security of our entire team, journalists, and spectators,” he concluded.
A day earlier, ICC turned down Bangladesh’s plea to relocate World Cup matches from India, keeping the tournament’s schedule unchanged, a decision taken during a board meeting.
For the unversed, the whole situation arose after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to send its team to India for the tournament, citing safety concerns for players and support staff, and had requested that the ICC shift the matches outside India.
The decision followed an IPL-related dispute involving pacer Mustafizur Rahman, which triggered strong reactions in Dhaka.
Despite multiple discussions, the ICC’s proposal to change venues within India was rejected by the BCB, which remains firm on playing its matches in Sri Lanka, prolonging the standoff.
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