The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has held “constructive” discussions with the International Cricket Council (ICC) over moving India’s Twenty20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka, the country’s governing body said on Saturday.
Uncertainty looms over Bangladesh’s participation in the Twenty20 World Cup following an earlier request by the BCB to the ICC to move its World Cup matches out of India over security concerns amid political tensions.
The BCB and ICC officials met in Dhaka on Saturday.
“During the discussions, the BCB reiterated its formal request to the ICC to relocate the matches from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka,” the BCB said in a statement.
“The board also shared the views and concerns of the Bangladesh government regarding the safety and security of the team, Bangladeshi fans, media and other stakeholders.”
Bangladesh are part of Group C of the World Cup and will face West Indies, England and Italy in Kolkata before taking on Nepal in Mumbai. The tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
Tensions have increased in recent weeks between majority-Hindu India and majority-Muslim Bangladesh.
Hundreds of people protested last month near the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi after a Hindu factory worker was beaten and set on fire in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district following allegations of blasphemy.
