ICC rejects Bangladesh’s request to shift their T20 World Cup 2026 matches from India

DHAKA: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to shift their matches from India to Sri Lanka for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, according to ESPNcricinfo.

The report said a virtual call on Tuesday took place between the ICC and BCB, during which the ICC informed the Board that it was rejecting the latter’s request to shift Bangladesh’s matches outside India due to security concerns.

The report further added that the ICC have told the BCB that their senior men’s national cricket team will need to travel to India to play their T20 World Cup matches or risk forfeiting points.

It is to be noted that there has been no official statement issued by BCB or ICC on the outcome of Tuesday’s call, which was arranged after BCB wrote in on Sunday, asking to consider moving Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2026, as per ESPNcricinfo.

Bangladesh are scheduled to open their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 against two-time champions West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After the West Indies, Bangladesh will face Italy on February 9 at the same venue, then face the 2022 T20 World Cup champions, England, in Kolkata again.

After facing England, Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Mumbai to play Nepal at Wankhede Stadium. The World Cup event will start on February 7 with a match between Pakistan and the Netherlands at Colombo.

Earlier, BCB formally requested the ICC to relocate Bangladesh’s matches in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 to venues outside India, citing “safety and security” concerns for Bangladeshi players, according to a BCB press release.

The BCB said that the team will not travel to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup, set to be hosted jointly by India and Sri Lanka over the “growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent.”

The developments follow the announcement by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that they had removed Bangladeshi player Muztafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 roster in response to a directive from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding atrocities committed against minorities in Bangladesh.

“An emergency meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was held this afternoon to discuss recent developments related to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka”, the BCB release said.

“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”, it said.

“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 BCB release added.

KKR’s decision came after the BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that the apex cricket board has instructed the IPL franchise to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman “due to the recent developments”.

“Due to the recent developments which are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad, and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement,” Devaijit Saikia had said.

Notably, the inclusion of the Bangladesh player sparked a political backlash in India, particularly amid the recent targeting of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, and various opinions were raised about Mustafizur being selected by KKR for the IPL 2026 season, picked by three-time champions for Rs 9.20 crores last year in December during the IPL auction. (ANI)