Bangladesh Firm on T20 WC Stance: Play in Sri Lanka or Risk Boycott

Earlier in the day, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said it had received a response from the ICC regarding its concerns about the security and safety of players in India during the T20 WC, including a request to relocate matches to another venue.

The BCB said that in its communication, the ICC reiterated its commitment to ensuring the Bangladesh team's complete and uninterrupted participation in the tournament. The BCB also noted media reports suggesting that the Board has been issued an ultimatum to play in India or risk losing points.

The BCB categorically stated that such claims are completely false, unfounded and do not reflect the nature or content of the communication received from the ICC.

A request to relocate Bangladesh's matches away from India was submitted to the ICC after three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released pacer Mustafizur Rahman at the instruction of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The inclusion of Bangladesh pace veteran in the KKR squad for Rs 9.20 crores met with immense backlash in India in light of atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh.

Speaking to the reporters after meeting with directors of BCB, Nazrul said that Bangladesh "certainly wants" to feature in the tournament after earning its qualification, but "not at the cost of the honour of the country, or at the cost of the security of the team, players, and the journalists of Bangladesh."

"We have discussed the situation. The Bangladesh team played hard and fought to qualify for the T20 World Cup, and as a cricket-crazy nation, we certainly want to play in the World Cup," he said as quoted by Daily Star.

"We do not want to take part in the World Cup at the cost of the honour of the country, or at the cost of the security of the team, players, and the journalists of Bangladesh," he added.

Nazrul also revealed that while BCB had received communication from ICC, they did not "fully realise the security issue that is in India."

"We got a letter from the ICC," he said. "I think they did not fully realise the security issue that is in place in India. It's not just a security issue; it is an issue of national honour as well," he said.

Nazrul also said that the country will "not compromise with our national honour or the security of our cricketers."

"There is a bigger picture regarding the communal issue that I do not want to discuss here," he said. "We will not compromise with our national honour or the security of our cricketers. We, of course, want to play the World Cup, but only in the other host nation, Sri Lanka. We are standing firmly by this stance. Our main position is that we will not compromise our national honour and security," he signed off.

Earlier, the BCB said it would continue constructive engagement with the ICC and relevant event authorities, in a cooperative and professional manner, to reach a mutually acceptable and practical solution that ensures the team's smooth and successful participation in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

Earlier, according to ESPNCricinfo, reports emerged that the ICC had rejected the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) request to shift their matches from India to Sri Lanka.

The report said a virtual call on Tuesday took place between the ICC and BCB, during which the ICC informed the Board that it was rejecting the latter's request to shift Bangladesh's matches outside India due to security concerns.

The report further added that the ICC have told the BCB that their senior men's national cricket team will need to travel to India to play their T20 World Cup matches or risk forfeiting points.

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 again. After facing England, Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Mumbai to play Nepal at Wankhede Stadium.

The Bangladesh government on Monday decided to suspend the broadcast of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 matches in the country following Mustafizur's release from KKR. The IPL gets underway on March 26.

- ANI