Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed it will not challenge the International Cricket Council’s decision to replace Bangladesh with Scotland in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, ending weeks of uncertainty and controversy surrounding the tournament.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!BCB media committee chairman Amzad Hossain made the announcement after a board meeting in Dhaka on Saturday, firmly stating that the board has accepted the ICC’s ruling and will not pursue any form of arbitration or dispute resolution, according to a report on ESPNCricinfo.
“We have accepted the decision of the ICC board,” Amzad said. “Since the ICC has said that we cannot go and play or they cannot shift our games to Sri Lanka, in this case we cannot go and play in India. Our position remains the same. We are not going to any separate arbitration or anything here.”Bangladesh’s withdrawal follows the government’s refusal to clear the national team for travel to India, citing concerns over player security. At an ICC Board meeting last week, Bangladesh were informed that failure to travel would result in replacement, a message the BCB subsequently relayed to the government.
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“After the ICC board meeting, there was a cabinet meeting of the Bangladesh government and a decision was made there,” Amzad said. “The decision clearly stated that our team will not be able to go to India. This decision has been communicated by the government.”According to Amzad, the ICC then gave the BCB a 24-hour deadline to confirm participation. “We told them politely that it is not possible for us to go and play according to this fixture,” he added.Contrary to reports, Amzad clarified that the BCB never approached the ICC’s dispute resolution committee. With Bangladesh declining to participate, the ICC moved swiftly to replace them with Scotland, the highest-ranked T20I side outside the original qualification list.The ICC, in its internal assessments, maintained that there was no credible security threat to the Bangladesh team in India and stressed the importance of protecting the integrity and schedule of the global event. After Bangladesh failed to confirm participation within the stipulated deadline, the governing body acted in line with its qualification and governance processes.During Saturday’s meeting, the BCB was also informed that board director Ishtiaque Sadeque had resigned, citing personal reasons, adding another layer of upheaval to a turbulent chapter for Bangladesh cricket.
