Bangladesh Official Claims "No Atmosphere" for T20 World Cup in India

ICC sources 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.

Asif Nazrul, who was speaking to the media at the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Bhaban today (Monday), said the security team in its letter has mentioned three issues regarding the security risks of Bangladesh playing in India.

According to the report, Nazrul said the concern regarding Bangladesh's security in the letter is that the security risk to the Bangladesh national cricket team will increase if Mustafizur Rahman is included in the Bangladesh team, "if the supporters of the Bangladesh team walk around wearing the national jersey of Bangladesh and our national jersey and the third is that the closer the election comes, the more the security threat for the Bangladesh team will increase".

He claimed the observation by the security team has "proven beyond a doubt that there is no situation for Bangladesh to play the T20 World Cup in India".

"If the ICC expects us to make a cricket team without our best bowler, our supporters will not be able to wear the country's jersey and we'll postpone the national election to play cricket there can be no more bizarre, unrealistic and unreasonable expectation than that...," he said, according to the report.

"We believe that no one should have a monopoly on the game of cricket. The fate of a game cannot be determined based on market management. If the ICC is truly a global organization, then it should give us the opportunity to play in the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. We'll not accept any concession in this regard," he added.

ICC 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 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 concerning the participation of Bangladesh in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, including selective references to the ICC's security risk assessment.

The sources said as with all ICC events, the security plan for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 remains under continuous review.

Participating members, including the Bangladesh Cricket Board, are being consulted as part of this process, and the ICC remains open to constructive dialogue and feedback to further strengthen arrangements where appropriate, the sources said.

"It is important to clarify that the ICC's independent risk assessments, carried out by internationally recognised security experts, do not conclude that Bangladesh cannot play its scheduled matches in India," a source said.

The sources said ICC has full confidence in the security arrangements being developed in close collaboration with the BCCI and relevant local authorities, who have a strong and proven track record of safely delivering major international sporting events.

The sources said that ICC's position remains unchanged. The match schedule has been finalised and published, and the ICC expects all participating teams to meet their obligations under the Terms of Participation. At the same time, the ICC will continue to engage with all stakeholders in a transparent, professional and collaborative manner to ensure the safety, security and integrity of the tournament, they said.

The T20 World Cup will start on February 7. Bangladesh are scheduled to open their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 against two-time champions West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After the West Indies, Bangladesh will face Italy on February 9 at the same venue, then face the 2022 T20 World Cup champions, England, in Kolkata and will conclude their group-stage campaign with clash against Nepal on February 17.

- ANI