Bangladesh Rejects ICC's "Unreasonable Conditions" for T20 World Cup

After Bangladesh speedster Mustafizur Rahman was excluded from the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made it clear that the team would not play in India under the current circumstances.

Despite several rounds of discussions between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and BCB officials, no resolution has been reached, leaving Bangladesh's participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup fate 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.

Previously, BCB denied that the ICC had set a January 21 deadline for them to decide on their participation in the T20 World Cup, starting from February 7, with media committee chairman Amjad Hossain saying that "no specific date" has been set for them.

As per ICC sources, the world's cricket governing body had earlier given an ultimatum to BCB to give their final decision on whether they will send the Bangladesh cricket team to India or not for the upcoming ICC WC by Wednesday (January 21). If the BCB refuses to send its team to India, the ICC is likely to name a replacement, and, as per the current rankings, it could be Scotland. The T20 World Cup will kick off on February 7, the sources added.

However, speaking to the media in Dhaka, Amjad said, as quoted by 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.

On the other hand, ICC is firm on not changing the original schedule, which has Bangladesh in Group C with Italy, New Zealand, West Indies and Nepal. For three weeks, no final decision has been made, and Bangladesh's opening game against the West Indies is just three weeks away at Kolkata on February 7.

They will play two more group stage matches at Kolkata's iconic Eden Gardens, followed by their final group stage game in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

During talks on Saturday, it was also understood that the ICC did not agree to Bangladesh and Ireland swapping groups, sending Bangladesh to Group B and making them play their opening games in Sri Lanka. ICC is also understood to have assured BCB that India poses no security threats to the Bangladesh team.

ICC sources had said on Monday that independent risk assessments, carried out by internationally recognised security experts, do not conclude that Bangladesh cannot play its scheduled T20 World Cup matches in India, noting that the overall security risk for the tournament in India has been assessed as low to moderate, which is consistent with the profile of many major global sporting events.

The sources said the independent risk assessments did not identify any specific or direct threat to the Bangladesh team, its officials, or the match venues in India. They said that, based on the professional advice received, the risk associated with Bangladesh's scheduled fixtures in Kolkata and Mumbai is assessed as low to moderate, with no indication of risks that cannot be effectively managed through established security planning and mitigation measures.

The sources said that ICC is aware of public comments made in recent days regarding Bangladesh's participation in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, including references to the ICC's security risk assessment.

- ANI