‘If hypocrisy had a face’: Bangladesh shooting team to visit India days after refusing T20 World Cup travel
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘If hypocrisy had a face’: Bangladesh shooting team to visit India days after refusing T20 World Cup travel")
‘If hypocrisy had a face’: Bangladesh shooting team to visit India days after refusing T20 World Cup travel Photograph: (AFP)
Days after refusing to travel to India for the T20 World Cup, citing concerns, the Bangladesh shooting team has made a sharp U-turn and is now set to visit India, sparking debate and criticism.
Bangladesh has found itself in a position of hypocrisy after it recently allowed its shooting team to travel to India, just days after the country’s cricket team refused to tour the same nation, citing safety concerns. This decision ultimately cost Bangladesh a place at the T20 World Cup 2026. The Bangladesh cricket team was dropped from the T20 World Cup, scheduled for India from February 7 to March 8, after the board made it clear that the team would not travel due to security concerns.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Bangladesh’s request to shift their matches to Sri Lanka, stating that independent security reports had cleared India as a safe host and that a late change in schedule was not possible. Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the tournament.
However, shortly after the ICC’s decision, Bangladesh approved a three-member shooting contingent to compete in the Asian Shooting Championships in New Delhi next month. The squad includes shooter Robiul Islam, his coach Sharmin Akhter and jury member Saima Feroze. The event will be held in the Indian capital from February 2 to 14.
The decision has raised questions over the differing standards applied to two national teams travelling to the same country within days of each other. Confirming Bangladesh’s participation, National Rifle Association of India secretary-general Pawan Singh said the process had been underway well in advance.
“Bangladesh’s participation was confirmed a month ago. Our applications for clearances for all nations have been in process for almost three months,” Singh was quoted saying to Reuters.
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Singh added that the Bangladesh contingent did not seek any additional security measures for their stay in India. “The Bangladesh team has come to our tournaments many times, so they know our strict protocols well. Maybe that’s why they are confident and have not made any special requests,” he said.
He also highlighted that shooting competitions follow global sporting rules. “We have to follow ISSF norms as a sport and comply with the IOC charter, and as NRAI, we have always received support from the government,” Singh added.
The Asian Shooting Confederation, which is organising the championship, has not responded to requests for comment.
The contrasting decisions by Bangladesh have labelled the move as double standards, raising serious questions over whether the claimed security threats for the cricket team were real or politically motivated.
