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Bangladesh T20 World Cup participation has been thrown into doubt after the country’s cricket board announced it will not travel to India for next month’s tournament, citing unresolved security concerns. The stance was reaffirmed on Thursday, a day after the International Cricket Council rejected Bangladesh’s request to shift its matches to Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh Rejects India as T20 World Cup Host
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam Bulbul made it clear that the team’s position remains firm despite the ICC’s decision.
“Our only demand is to play the World Cup — but not in India,” Bulbul told reporters, effectively ruling out Bangladesh’s participation if the venue remains unchanged.
The 20-team T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7, with India as the host nation.
ICC Rejects Venue Shift Request
The BCB had formally requested the ICC to relocate Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka, citing safety concerns for players and officials. However, the proposal was dismissed during an ICC board meeting on Wednesday, prompting renewed resistance from Dhaka.
The rejection intensified internal consultations within Bangladesh’s cricket administration and government.
Source: Al Jazeera“
BCB Cites Security Concerns
Following a high-level meeting involving national team players, BCB officials, and Adviser to the Ministry of Youth and Sports Asif Nazrul, the government publicly backed the board’s stance.
Nazrul said Bangladesh saw no justification to revise its decision, stressing that the security environment in India had not changed.
“There is no scope to change our decision. We believe we did not get justice from the ICC,” he said. “The security situation in India remains unchanged.”
He emphasised that Bangladesh’s concerns were based on a real incident involving one of its cricketers.
“Our security concerns did not materialise out of thin air. It stemmed from a real incident,” Nazrul said, alleging that Indian authorities failed to provide adequate protection when a Bangladeshi player faced threats from extremist groups.
Government and Players Back Decision
Nazrul went on to strongly criticise the structure of cricket governance in India, arguing that the country’s national cricket board functions as an extension of the government rather than as an independent sporting body. He claimed this close alignment limited the board’s ability or willingness to act decisively when security concerns involving foreign players arose.
He pointed to what he described as a failure to provide adequate protection to a Bangladeshi cricketer during a previous incident, stating that the matter was not handled with the seriousness it deserved. According to Nazrul, this experience reinforced the belief among Bangladeshi officials that assurances alone were insufficient without concrete guarantees on the ground.
Officials familiar with the discussions said the decision not to travel to India was taken collectively after extensive consultations with members of the national team and senior cricket administrators. The players, they added, were fully briefed on the situation and expressed unanimous support for the board’s stance, reflecting a strong internal consensus between the government, the cricket board, and the squad.
Participation in Doubt
With the ICC standing by its original hosting plan and Bangladesh refusing to travel, uncertainty now surrounds the team’s participation in the global event. Observers warn the standoff could escalate into a major governance challenge for world cricket if a resolution is not reached soon.
For now, Bangladesh maintains it remains willing to play the T20 World Cup — but only outside India.
