On T20 World Cup Row, ICC Blasts Bangladesh: "Unrelated Development"

The international Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Bangladesh Cricket Board's request to shift their T20 World Cup 2026 matches from India. The BCB had previously cited 'security concerns' and asked the global cricket governing body to shift their group stage games to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC said that there were no 'credible or verfiiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India'. The BCB was also given a 24-hour deadline to take a decision on their participation and if they refuse to travel to India, it is likely that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2026.

"Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh's participation in the tournament. During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India,” an ICC spokesperson's statement in relation to the decision read.

“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its player's involvement in a domestic league. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament's security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup."

“The ICC's venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and the tournament's agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures. Doing so would carry significant logistical and scheduling consequences for other teams and fans worldwide, and would also create far-reaching precedent-related challenges that risk undermining the neutrality, fairness, and integrity of ICC governance. The ICC remains committed to acting in good faith, upholding consistent standards, and safeguarding the collective interests of the global game," the release added.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Bangladesh Cricket Team International Cricket Council Bangladesh Cricket Board BCCI T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket