Bangladesh on Thursday refused to play the T20 World Cup in India, making their exit from the tournament a certainty. A day earlier, the ICC had clarified that all of Bangladesh’s group matches would be held in India. Previously, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had demanded that all its matches be held in Sri Lanka instead of India. The ICC rejected this demand on Wednesday and gave the BCB one day to decide. Bangladesh government sports advisor Asif Nazrul met with the national team players in Dhaka today. After the meeting, he said, “We want to play the World Cup, but concerns about the safety of our players and support staff in India remain.” Meanwhile, BCB president Aminul Islam said the board would once again engage with the ICC and strongly express its concerns. Bangladesh will continue its fight. Meanwhile, the ICC has expressed satisfaction with the preparations at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The ICC inspection team, along with the BCCI, visited the ground, where four group stage matches are scheduled to be played. Sports advisor Asif Nazrul said, “No matter how much the ICC claims there’s no security threat, the reality is that our player was expelled from the IPL. The same country is going to host the World Cup. So the question is, what has changed since then?” He said, “If a player like Mustafizur can’t be provided security, how can we trust the ICC to provide security to all our players?” Nazrul said, “The purpose of this meeting was only to understand what the players want. We don’t want to put our players in any kind of danger.” Why Bangladesh refused to play in India: know two major reasons. What could be the consequences for Bangladesh of not playing in India? Madan Lal said on Bangladesh’s decision, “India is the safest.” Pakistan had supported, but not boycotted. A day earlier, Bangladesh had expected the PCB to boycott the tournament in support of its team. The Pakistani board expressed support at the ICC board meeting, but did not talk about withdrawing from the tournament. However, some media reports claimed that Pakistan might reconsider its decision to play in the World Cup. Scotland may get a chance
After Bangladesh’s withdrawal from the World Cup, Scotland is almost certain to receive a place in the World Cup. Recent media reports suggested that Scotland could be given a chance in the World Cup based on rankings, similar to what happened after Zimbabwe’s withdrawal in 2009. Bangladesh has been placed in Group C for the tournament, which begins February 7th. Their three group matches will be played at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata. The team’s final group stage match is scheduled for Mumbai. Controversy over Mustafizur Rahman’s exclusion from the IPL: Due to the killings of Hindus in Bangladesh, the BCCI has not allowed Mustafizur Rahman to play in the IPL. He was dropped by KKR on January 3rd at the BCCI’s behest. This angered the Bangladesh government, which banned the broadcast of IPL matches in the country. Citing the safety of players, it also demanded a change of venue for the T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin February 7th. KKR bought Mustafizur Rahman for ₹9.2 crore, then controversy erupted over his exclusion from the IPL. On December 16th, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired Bangladeshi bowler Mustafizur Rahman for ₹9.20 crore in the IPL mini-auction. Following this, protests against Mustafizur began in India due to the killings of Hindus in Bangladesh. Seven Hindus have been killed there so far. The BCCI subsequently denied Mustafizur permission to play in the IPL, and KKR released him on January 3rd. ______________________ Also read this sports news… ICC says Bangladesh’s World Cup matches will be held in India: Refused to change schedule, demands response within a day; if not agreed, Scotland will be given a chance. Bangladesh will have to play all its matches for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India. The ICC has made it clear that there will be no changes to the tournament schedule. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has been given one more day to consider its demand not to play in India. Full story
