Bangladesh on brink of losing T20 WC spot should BCB refuse India travel; ICC issues deadline
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Bangladesh on brink of losing T20 WC spot should BCB refuse India travel; ICC issues deadline")
ICC issues deadline to BCB to fix Bangladesh’s 2026 T20 WC participation Photograph: (AFP)
Bangladesh is placed in Group C, alongside the West Indies, England, Nepal and the tournament debutants Italy.
Bangladesh is on the brink of losing its 2026 T20 World Cup spot to a lower-ranked team should its cricket board (the BCB) remain firm on its stance (of sending the team to India for the marquee tournament starting in less than three weeks). Per the latest report, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has issued a deadline to the BCB to choose between playing their scheduled league games in India or be ready to be replaced; during their second meeting with the BCB (on Saturday), the ICC again refused their request of moving the team’s matches out of India, citing security concerns.
A final call on Bangladesh’s participation at next month’s T20 World Cup, primarily whether they travel to India for their scheduled four group games, will be taken by January 21, an ESPNcricinfo report read. It further claims that the ICC informed the BCB of its decision during their second meeting over the weekend.
In Saturday’s talks, the BCB clarified that they want to participate in the T20 World Cup, not just in India; they requested the ICC to move its matches to Sri Lanka, the co-host of the tournament. Although the BCB again raised concerns over their players’ safety in India, since first bringing this up with them on January 4, the ICC denied all such requests, maintaining its stance of not changing the original schedule, which sees Bangladesh placed in Group C.
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Not only this, but the ICC has also denied BCB’s request to move Bangladesh to Group B, swapping places with Ireland, which only plays its group games in Sri Lanka. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is scheduled to play their first three league matches in Kolkata, including the tournament opener, before moving to Mumbai for its last group tie.
Meanwhile, an advisory issued to all 20 participating teams, prepared by an independent security agency, indicates that the overall threat level in India is between medium and high band; however, there remains no direct or specified threat to any travelling teams.
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The report also claims that the ICC has now thrown the ball in BCB’s court, awaiting their response following their last meeting. Should the BCB refuse to travel to India for the first showpiece event of the year, the ICC would then replace Bangladesh with Scotland, based on current rankings.
