Bangladesh will request that their T20 World Cup matches next month be played in Sri Lanka, after India forced a Bangladeshi player out of the Indian Premier League.
“We will not accept any insult to Bangladeshi cricket, cricketers and Bangladesh under any circumstances,” Asif Nazrul, adviser on youth and sports in the caretaker government, said in a statement. statement carried by the state B.S.S. news agency on Sunday.
“The days of slavery are over,” he said.
Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was released by Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday after the Indian Premier League (IPL) side was “advised” by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to do so, following tensions between the neighboring nations.
Nazrul said he had directed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to write to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“The board should inform that where a Bangladeshi cricketer cannot play in India despite his contract, the entire Bangladesh cricket team cannot feel safe participating in the World Cup,” he wrote.
“I have also requested the board to request that Bangladesh’s World Cup matches be played in Sri Lanka.”
The T20 World Cup begins on February 7, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh are expected to play their four group matches in India.
Pakistan will play all its matches in Sri Lanka, under an agreement that allows India and Pakistan to play at neutral venues in multi-nation tournaments.
Political relations between India and Bangladesh deteriorated after a mass uprising in Dhaka in 2024 toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a close ally of New Delhi.
India’s foreign ministry last month condemned what it called “unrelenting hostility against minorities” in Muslim-majority Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, accused India of exaggerating the scale of the violence.
BCB chairman Aminul Islam Bulbul said the board would hold an emergency meeting later on Sunday.
“The dignity and safety of our cricketers are our top priorities, and we will take a decision at the appropriate time keeping this in mind,” he told reporters on Saturday evening.
Mustafizur, who has previously played in the IPL for other teams, was bought at auction in December by Kolkata for over $1 million.
But BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that “in view of recent developments”, Kolkata had been “advised to release” the 30-year-old.
The IPL 2026 season begins on March 26.
Nazrul said he would also demand that the IPL be blocked for Bangladeshi broadcasters.
“I have requested the information and broadcasting advisor to stop the broadcast of the IPL tournament in Bangladesh,” he said.
Kolkata, majority-owned by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, later said “Mustafizur’s release was carried out through due process and consultations”.
