Dhaka:
Bangladesh gave a clear answer to the International Cricket Council (ICC) not to send a team to India for the T20 World Cup due to the safety of its players.
According to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), a video conference was held with the ICC in which the BCB reiterated its decision and requested the ICC to shift all Bangladesh matches from India to other countries.
BCB said in a statement that the board reiterated its position on the decision not to send the team to India due to security concerns.
The ICC has taken notice of the previously announced match schedule and asked the BCB to reconsider its decision, but the board’s position has not changed, the statement said.
The BCB said talks with the ICC will continue to find a possible solution but the board remains committed to the safety of its players, officials and staff.
On the other hand, no response was given by the ICC regarding this meeting.
It may be recalled that Bangladesh announced on January 4 that it will not send its team to India for the T20 World Cup after it pulled fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and asked the ICC to shift Bangladesh’s matches from India to Sri Lanka.
The T20 World Cup jointly scheduled in Sri Lanka in India will officially start on February 7, 2026 and all the group matches of Bangladesh are scheduled in India.
The Liton Das-led Bangladesh T20 team is ranked ninth in the ICC rankings and has opened all the T20 World Cups so far, but is yet to reach the semi-finals.
It is worth noting that the strain in relations between India and Bangladesh began in August 2024 when the government of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid, India’s ally, ended as a result of nationwide protests by the student movement.
After the murder of Sharif Usman Hadi, one of the leading leaders of the Bangladeshi student movement, the police revealed the killers who crossed the border and went to India after the murder, and India is angry about this incident in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus said that India is fueling tensions in the country.
On the other hand, India condemned the bad behavior against the minorities in Bangladesh and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India issued a statement in this regard.
