ICC Accused Of Double Standards, Bangladesh Sends 'India Privilege' Reminder
Bangladesh on Thursday refused to travel to India for the marquee tournament, a day after the ICC rejected their request to shift their matches to a neutral venue.
Bangladesh has accused the International Cricket Council (ICC) of double standards after the governing body rejected its request to shift its T20 World Cup matches from India. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Thursday refused to travel to India for the marquee tournament, starting February 7, citing security concerns. Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka, BCB President Aminul Islam revealed that the ICC presented them with past instances of teams like Australia, the West Indies, New Zealand, and England forfeiting their games by refusing to play at certain venues during the 1996 and 2003 ODI World Cups.
He added that the BCB countered this by citing the example of the 2025 Champions Trophy, where India played its matches in Dubai after refusing to travel to Pakistan, also due to security concerns.
"The ICC tried to tell us about incidents in 1996 and 2003, but we pointed out their recent steps in a similar matter. When a country refused to travel to another country for the Champions Trophy last February, the ICC organized a neutral venue for them. That team played all its Champions Trophy matches in that neutral venue. They played at one ground and stayed in one hotel. It was a privilege," said Aminul.
Aminul argued that since Sri Lanka is a co-host under the hybrid model, Bangladesh should have also been given the privilege of playing its matches at a neutral venue.
"We are calling Sri Lanka co-hosts, but they are not truly co-hosting. Sri Lanka is part of a hybrid model where only one country is scheduled to play. We indicated to the ICC that since our government is reluctant [to let us play in India], we want to exercise that same option. Still, they denied our request. We will communicate with the ICC today. We are ready to play the World Cup in Sri Lanka; we simply do not want to play in India," he added.
The ICC reiterated on Wednesday that the T20 World Cup will proceed as scheduled, with Bangladesh's matches to be played in India. They also issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Bangladesh to either confirm its participation or be removed from the tournament.
Bangladesh Cricket Team
India Cricket Team