CHENNAI: Bangladesh Cricket Board had reaffirmed its position about not travelling to India for the T20 World Cup next month during a virtual meeting with the International Cricket Council on Tuesday. Another round of discussions is set to take place before the final decision is made.
This was confirmed by BCB on Tuesday. "A video conference between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) was held this afternoon to discuss the participation of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. Representing the BCB were President Md Aminul Islam, Vice Presidents Md Shakawath Hossain and Faruque Ahmed, Director and Chairman of the Cricket Operations Committee Nazmul Abedeen and Chief Executive Officer Nizam Uddin Chowdhury," BCB said in a statement.
During the discussions, the BCB reaffirmed its position regarding the decision not to travel to India, citing security concerns. "The Board also reiterated its request for the ICC to consider relocating Bangladesh's matches outside India. While the ICC highlighted that the tournament itinerary has already been announced and requested the BCB to reconsider its stance, the Board’s position remains unchanged. Both parties agreed that discussions will continue to explore possible solutions," BCB added.
Over the last few days, things have escalated quickly following the removal of Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League. Kolkata Knight Riders had signed the pacer for Rs 9.2 crores and soon their owner and Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan came under criticism from some corners of the political parties and on social media. Following that BCCI told the franchise to release the seamer. And soon, BCB informed ICC of its decision to not travel to India for the World Cup.
On Monday, the ICC had apparently shared its internal security assessment which indicates no specific or heightened threat to Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Bangladesh sports ministry advisor Asif Nazrul claimed that the ICC report had flagged a threat to Mustafizur. However, BCB clarified in a statement later in the day that the ICC's security assessment was not a response to Bangladesh's official request to move their T20 World Cup games out of India.
"The correspondence cited today by the Adviser for the Ministry of Youth & Sports was in reference to an internal communication between the BCB and the ICC's Security Department related to threat assessments for the Bangladesh team ahead of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup," the BCB said on Monday. "This does not constitute a formal response from the ICC to the BCB's request for the relocation of Bangladesh's matches outside India.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India and the ICC have remained silent on the issue so far, but a final decision has to be made soon, considering that the tournament is set to begin in the first week of February. If not it will be chaos for all teams and the fans who will have to plan their travel arrangements. Bangladesh, as things stand, are scheduled to play three games in Kolkata and one in Mumbai during the group stages.
The T20 World Cup is set to begin from February 7