‘Going to India to play World Cup would not be safe for us,’ Bangladesh govt to BCB amid tournament snub

Bangladesh will not participate in the 2026 T20 World Cup, with the ICC replacing them with Scotland in Group C. Following weeks of drama and rising tensions between the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI), the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), and the apex body (ICC) over the venue row, the Bangladesh government’s decision not to send its team to India due to security concerns led to the inevitable. However, with the first showpiece event of the year starting in less than two weeks, the BCB has accepted ICC’s decision and vows not to take any legal action against it.

Speaking to the media following Saturday’s board meeting in Dhaka, Amzad Hossain, the BCB's media committee chairman, claimed that the Bangladesh board acknowledges ICC’s decision and that they will not reach out to any arbitration over this matter.

"We have accepted the decision of the ICC board," Amzad said. "Since the ICC has said that we cannot go and play or they cannot shift our games to Sri Lanka, in this case, we cannot go and play in India. Our position remains the same. We are not going to any separate arbitration or anything here."

However, what made headlines was the Bangladesh government’s remarks on the Bangladesh team's security in India, which Hossain also echoed, saying, ‘going to play in the World Cup would not be safe’ for the team, its staff, fans and journalists.

“We have spoken with the government. The government has said that going to India to play in the World Cup would not be safe for us, for our players, journalists, or anyone accompanying the team,” Hossain said.

He added that the BCB also offered several proposals to the ICC, including swapping groups with one of Ireland or Zimbabwe (both in Group B); the ICC denied doing so, citing Sri Lanka’s refusal to have a new team in the group.

“We have tried our best. We fully respect the ICC Board, and the Board’s majority decision was that the match cannot be relocated,” Hossain said. “Even after that, we tried in our own way and made requests. Since they will not do it or do not want to, there is nothing more we can do.”

Meanwhile, it all unfolded after the BCCI instructed IPL team KKR to release seamer Mustafizur Rahman over recent chaos and regular attacks on the minorities in Bangladesh. Irked with the lack of clarity on this, the BCB retaliated by first suspending all IPL-related activities in India and then by formally writing to the ICC, urging them to move its scheduled league matches from India to Sri Lanka (the tournament’s co-host). The ICC rejected BCB's plea on two occasions, eventually replacing them with Scotland for the T20 World Cup.