DHAKA: Bangladesh government sports advisor Asif Nazrul on Tuesday reiterated that under no circumstances would the national team travel to India for the T20 World Cup, despite an ultimatum from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to decide on its participation by January 21, on Press Trust of India (PTI), the news agency reported.
If BCB remains adamant about not traveling to India for the 20-team tournament, Scotland will likely replace Bangladesh as per the current standings.
“I don’t know if Scotland will be included instead of us,” Asif told reporters.
“If the ICC gives in to pressure from the Indian cricket board and tries to put pressure on us by setting unreasonable conditions, we will not accept those conditions.
“There have been instances in the past where Pakistan said they would not travel to India and the ICC changed the venue. We asked to change the venue for logical reasons and we cannot be pressured to play in India by applying illogical pressure.”
The standoff was triggered by the removal of Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from Kolkata Knight Riders’ roster for this year’s Indian Premier League as part of instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding unspecified “all-around developments”.
Citing security concerns and national pride, the BCB responded by announcing that its national team would not travel to India for its group stage matches in Kolkata and Mumbai.
The BCB wants to play each of its four group stage matches in Sri Lanka, where the showpiece clash between India and Pakistan will also take place as per the mutually agreed arrangement for ICC events until 2027.
Bangladesh is currently placed in Group ‘C’ with West Indies, Italy, England and Nepal.
In its last meeting with ICC officials in Dhaka, the BCB had proposed swapping positions with Ireland in Group ‘B’, which includes tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Oman and Zimbabwe.
Such a move would allow Bangladesh to remain in Sri Lanka for the entirety of their group stage engagements.
Even though the BCB considers it unsafe for its players to travel to India, the ICC risk assessment report did not flag any specific or direct threat to the team’s participation in the World Cup.
Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have deteriorated in recent months, exacerbated by the reported killings of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal and current Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto have warned of a tough approach on the controversial issue, with the former saying that decisions taken today would have repercussions 10 years from now.
Published in Dawn, January 21, 2026
