Kamal Ghorui
Bangladesh on Tuesday rejected what it described as “unreasonable conditions” imposed by the ICC regarding its participation in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India, according to Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul. Following the exclusion of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL 2026, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) reiterated that the team would not tour India under the present circumstances.Despite multiple rounds of discussions between ICC and BCB officials, the matter remains unresolved, leaving Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament uncertain.
Speaking at the Secretariat on Tuesday, Asif Nazrul said, “If the ICC bows to pressure from the Indian cricket board and imposes unreasonable conditions on us, we will not accept them.”“There are precedents in international cricket, when India refused to play in Pakistan, the ICC changed the venue. We have reasonably asked for a venue change,” he added.Earlier, the BCB dismissed reports claiming the ICC had set a January 21 deadline for Bangladesh to confirm participation in the World Cup, which begins on February 7. Media committee chairman Amjad Hossain said that “no specific date” had been communicated.However, ICC sources said the governing body had issued an ultimatum asking BCB to convey a final decision by Wednesday (January 21). If Bangladesh withdraws, the ICC may name a replacement team, with Scotland next in line as per current rankings.Clarifying the situation, Amjad told the Daily Star, “Last Saturday, on January 17, an ICC representative came, and our cricket board representatives held a meeting with him. Regarding World Cup participation, there was an issue with the venue, and we informed them of our reluctance to play there. We requested an alternate venue, and we held detailed discussions with the representatives. They told us that they will inform the ICC about the issues and will let us know about the decision later on.”“In regard to these talks, they have not mentioned a specific date or when they will let us know. They just told us that they will let us know when the next discussion will take place. Thank you,” he added.The ICC, meanwhile, remains firm on sticking to the original schedule, which places Bangladesh in Group C alongside Italy, New Zealand, West Indies and Nepal. Bangladesh are scheduled to play their opening match against West Indies in Kolkata on February 7, followed by two more group games at Eden Gardens and their final group match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.Talks on Saturday also revealed that the ICC did not agree to Bangladesh and Ireland swapping groups to allow Bangladesh to play matches in Sri Lanka. The ICC has also assured BCB that India poses no security threat to the team.ICC sources said independent risk assessments by internationally recognised security experts have found no specific threat to Bangladesh, its officials or venues, and assessed the overall security risk for matches in India as low to moderate.
