Kamal Ghorui
Bangladesh cricketers on Thursday held a meeting in Dhaka with sports adviser Asif Nazrul and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam to discuss the team’s participation in the T20 World Cup, a day after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected BCB’s request to shift its matches out of India.Players present at the meeting included Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Jaker Ali and Saif Hassan. BCB president Aminul Islam and chief executive Nizamuddin were also in attendance.A report by ESPNcricinfo stated that the players want to participate in the T20 World Cup and plan to convey this position to the government representative. The meeting was called to take a final call on whether Bangladesh will travel to India or withdraw from the tournament.Also read: ‘Won’t play in India’: Bangladesh out of T20 World Cup? BCB remains defiant despite ICC’s ultimatumSince January 4, the BCB and the Bangladesh government have maintained that the team will not travel to India, citing “security concerns”. If that position remains unchanged, Bangladesh will forfeit their place in the T20 World Cup.The meeting followed the ICC’s decision on Wednesday to reject the BCB’s request to move Bangladesh’s group-stage matches to Sri Lanka. The ICC said the tournament would proceed as scheduled, noting that security assessments found no credible threat to the safety of Bangladesh players, officials or fans at venues in India.The decision was taken at an ICC Board meeting held via video conference after the BCB raised concerns and sought a venue change. The ICC gave BCB one more day to review the situation and communicate its final position.After the ICC decision, BCB president Aminul Islam said he was hoping for a “miracle” from the global body.If Bangladesh pull out of the tournament, Scotland are likely to replace them based on current rankings.The situation began after Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was removed from Kolkata Knight Riders’ squad for the upcoming Indian Premier League on BCCI’s instructions, citing unspecified “developments all around”.Following that, the BCB announced that the national team would not travel to India for their T20 World Cup group matches in Kolkata and Mumbai, referring to security concerns.The BCB had proposed that Bangladesh play all four of their group-stage matches in Sri Lanka, where the India-Pakistan match will be held under the mutually agreed ICC event arrangement until 2027.In a recent meeting with ICC officials in Dhaka, the BCB also suggested swapping groups with Ireland. Group B includes co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Oman and Zimbabwe. Such a move would allow Bangladesh to remain in Sri Lanka for the group stage.
