Bangladesh's Strong Reaction After ICC's Letter On T20 World Cup Venue Change Row

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) top officials held a high-level meeting on Wednesday regarding their stance of not playing T20 World Cup matches in India. The meeting was attended by BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul and Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh government's advisor on Youth and Sports. In the meeting, it was decided that Bangladesh will try to convince the ICC to shift its T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka. Bangladesh are scheduled to play four T20 World Cup group stage matches in India (three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai).

The venue row started after Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman's release from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. On the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Kolkata Knight Riders released the veteran seamer, leaving the Bangladesh government and its cricket board fuming.

The ICC on Tuesday had sent a letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board after its request regarding venue change. "In its communication, the ICC has reiterated its commitment to ensuring the full and uninterrupted participation of the Bangladesh team in the tournament," the BCB claimed.

"The ICC has conveyed its willingness to work closely with the BCB to address the concerns raised and has assured that the Board's inputs will be welcomed and duly considered as part of the detailed security planning for the event."

In Wednesday's meeting, Nazrul reiterated Bangladesh's stand of not wanting to play in India.

"We don't want to play the T20 World Cup in exchange for the honour of our country or in exchange for the security of our players and journalists. The letter that we have received from the ICC, after reading that we feel there is a major security concern in India regarding Bangladesh cricketers. The BCCI itself is telling the Kolkata Knight Riders team that, 'we are unable to provide security to this player (Mustafizur Rahman), so expel him from the team'. This is a tacit recognition that there is a safety issue in India," said Asif Nazrul, Advisor on Youth and Sports, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

"We want to play the World Cup, but in Sri Lanka. We are adamant in this position. I hope we will be able to make the ICC understand our concerns. Hopefully, the ICC will hear our concerns objectively."

He was then asked about the possibility of Bangladesh giving walkovers in the team's matches scheduled in India. Nazrul did not give a definitive answer to the question. "Our main stand is to make the ICC understand that we are not in a position to play in India. We will reply to the ICC very soon," he said.

BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul said further communication with the ICC will happen very soon. "We will fight for our rights. We are talking about a valid reason. We will make the ICC understand. We must understand that the T20 World Cup is being played in a hybrid model due to security reasons," he said.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Bangladesh Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026 International Cricket Council BCCI Mustafizur Rahman Cricket