Bangladesh decides not to travel to India for ensuing ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Dhaka: Bangladesh has decided not to travel to India for the ensuing ICC T20 World Cup 2026, as per multiple media reports
According to Kashmir Media Service, this follows the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to stick to the original schedule as they had rejected Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to move the national team’s matches out of India for fear of security.
“We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka. They did give us a 24 hour ultimatum but a global body cannot really do that. ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss … ICC is calling Sri Lanka co-hosts. They are not co-hosts. It is a hybrid model. Some of the things I heard in the ICC meeting was shocking,” said BCB president Amin-ul Islam after a discussion with the government’s sports advisor in Dhaka.
The tournament to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka will be held from February 7 to March 8
Bangladesh are due to play four games in India (three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai). “Our only demand is to play the World Cup — but not in India,” Islam added, effectively ruling out their participation in the tournament. In case Bangladesh pulls out, ICC is likely to replace them with another team — probably Scotland. (with ICC Media inputs)
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on January 21 rejected the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to shift its T20 World Cup group matches from India to Sri Lanka, stating there was no credible security threat to Bangladesh players, officials or fans.
The decision was taken at an ICC Board meeting held via video conference, where 14 of the 16 members voted against relocation, with only Bangladesh and Pakistan supporting the request. The ICC has given the BCB one more day to confirm its participation in the tournament.
Bangladesh government’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul reiterated that the national team would not travel to India “under any condition”. If Bangladesh withdraw, Scotland are likely to replace them.
The dispute followed the removal of pacer Mustafizur Rahman from Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL squad on BCCI’s instruction, after which the BCB announced it would not send the team to India for matches in Kolkata and Mumbai. KMS—14A
