A day after Kolkata Knight Riders released Bangladesh seamer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL squad at the instruction of BCCI, Bangladesh Cricket Board has formally written to the ICC to relocate their T20 World Cup matches from India. While the BCCI remain silent on the matter at the moment, if things don’t get sorted amicably the entire World Cup schedule will have to be changed.
Bangladesh, who are scheduled to play three matches in Kolkata and Mumbai, have now officially refused to travel to India amidst the rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries. Following an emergency board meeting on Saturday night, BCB said as much in a statement. “The Board reviewed the situation in detail, taking into account developments over the last 24 hours and expressed deep concern over the overall circumstances surrounding the participation of the Bangladesh National Team in matches scheduled to be played in India.
Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government, the Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,” the statement read.
BCB went on to say that the step was necessary for the safety and well being of the players and officials from the country. “In light of this decision, the BCB has formally requested the International Cricket Council (ICC), as the event authority, to consider relocating all of Bangladesh’s matches to a venue outside India. The Bangladesh Cricket Board looks forward to the ICC’s understanding of the situation and an urgent response on this matter,” it said.
As per the ICC protocol, if they receive a formal complaint, they will have to take it up and the picture will get clearer in the next couple of days. And going by the past trend, where India raised security concerns and the hybrid model was worked out between Pakistan and India, the global cricketing body may consider the request and move the games to Sri Lanka.
Since the political turmoil in Bangladesh last year, the cricketing relations between two countries have not been smooth. India men’s tour of Bangladesh was postponed last August and as late as December 2025, the Bangladesh women's tour of India was indefinitely postponed.
After KKR signed Rahman for ₹9.2 crores, 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.
