Bangladesh have once again asked the International Cricket Council to shift their T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka. The request was strongly backed by Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul.
He said the issue is about player safety and national dignity. He added that the Bangladesh Cricket Board will continue talks with the ICC. Nazrul spoke at a press conference on Wednesday. He referred to a recent communication from the ICC after a call held on Tuesday.
“Today, after reading the letter from the ICC, we understand that the ICC doesn’t fully realize the scale of the security issue regarding Bangladeshi cricketers in India. I believe it’s not only a matter of security but also that of national humiliation. We are looking at it as a security issue, where the BCCI itself is telling the Kolkata [Knight Riders] team that this player can’t be given security, [so] leave him out from your team. This in itself is a tacit recognition that it isn’t very safe to play in India.”
Bangladesh are scheduled to play three group matches in Kolkata. Their final group match is set to be played in Mumbai. The situation worsened after the BCCI asked Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Mustafizur Rahman from IPL 2026.
Following this, the Bangladesh government banned IPL broadcasts in the country. The BCB also officially told the ICC that the team would not play in India. The ICC later denied reports of giving an ultimatum to Bangladesh.
Government and BCB stand firm on not visiting India
Nazrul later repeated Bangladesh’s position.
“We don’t want to say anything about the bigger picture, the communal situation in India. But when it comes to our cricketers’ safety, Bangladesh’s safety, and Bangladesh’s dignity, we won’t make any compromise. We want to play cricket, we want to play the World Cup – but we want to play in Sri Lanka, which is the other host country,”
“We are honouring our position on this because we hope we are able to convince the ICC, and that the ICC considers our logic with an open heart, and neutrally, to let us deservingly play in the World Cup. Whatever happens next, we’ll take a stand accordingly. For now, we have taken this stand very clearly that we’ll convince the ICC that the atmosphere isn’t [right] for us to play in India,”
BCB President Aminul Islam also supported the stand.
“It is not possible for the cricket board to ask for the security of each and every person from Bangladesh who goes to the World Cup, and this includes the team, as well as fans and journalists. That’s why we’re taking the government’s directive because you know that every foreign trip requires a government order,”
“We came here [to meet with Nazrul] to know the position of that order. We understand that if the safety and security doesn’t improve, we’ll fight for our rights to go for the World Cup. We will try to convince the ICC. Such events related to security have taken place in the past as well,”
“You know the main reason for a hybrid World Cup is security. So we hope to establish our reasons. When the Champions Trophy happened, India didn’t go to Pakistan. Even Pakistan didn’t go to India to play the World Cup. So we hope we’ll get the right answer,”
If Bangladesh do not travel and the ICC refuses relocation, the team could be eliminated without playing a match.
