The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has officially announced that it will not send the national team to India for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 matches scheduled in India.
According to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, the decision not to send the team has been taken in the context of India’s extremist and communal policies.
An emergency meeting of the BCB’s board of directors was held this afternoon, in which the recent developments related to the World Cup 2026 were discussed in detail.
The meeting conducted a comprehensive review of the situation that had emerged over the last 24 hours and expressed deep concern over the participation of the Bangladesh national team in the scheduled matches in India.
The decision not to send the team to India has been taken in consultation with the Bangladesh government. The meeting discussed in detail the concerns related to the safety and security of Bangladeshi players, team officials and other relevant persons in India.
In view of the current circumstances and security situation, the Board of Directors unanimously decided that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India under the current circumstances.
In the wake of the fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman being released from the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to threats from Hindu extremist groups, Bangladesh is reportedly looking at the possibility of moving its T20 World Cup games from India to Sri Lanka.
Bangladeshi sources say that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is pressing for talks to be held right away about the IPL release of Mustafizur. The emergency talks will also take a look at the Indian Cricket Board’s ruling regarding the player’s withdrawal from the Kolkata Knight Riders roster because of safety issues.
President of the BCB Aminul Islam informed that although an official board meeting could not be called soon, talks are going on to analyze the situation. He added, “The safety and security of our players is our topmost concern. The talks will reveal the truth and we are also in touch with the necessary departments.”
It is believed that the Indian board succumbed to the influence of the extremist factions, telling KKR to let Mustafizur Rahman go. After this incident, the Bangladeshi press informed that the BCB would seek security guarantees from the ICC for its players and that it might eventually choose Sri Lanka instead of India for its World Cup matches.
The T20 World Cup is to start on February 7, with India and Sri Lanka as co-hosts. Bangladesh is in Group C, with Kolkata scheduled to host three out of its four matches and Mumbai for one. Pakistan is in Group A, however, will play all its matches in Sri Lanka as it will not have any games in India.
The entire episode has unveiled the rising fears about the players’ safety and the interference of politics in cricket in that region.
Read also: Bangladesh considers moving T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka over Mustafizur IPL controversy
