Bangladesh has officially announced that their cricket team will not travel to India to participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, citing security concerns.
According to Geo News, the announcement was made by Bangladesh’s Sports Advisor following the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rejection of the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to shift their matches from India to Sri Lanka.
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The BCB had requested the relocation to ensure player safety.
According to reports, the BCB had consulted with players before making a final decision.
While the majority of Bangladesh players were reportedly in favor of participating in the tournament, the government and board decided against sending the team to India.
Bangladesh Cricket Board president Aminul Islam reaffirmed his board’s position on the venue issue, saying Bangladesh would return to the ICC with a proposal to play their matches in Sri Lanka and stressing that the decision not to travel to India was taken at the government level.
“We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka,” Aminul said. “They did give us a 24-hour ultimatum but a global body can’t really do that. ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss.”
“We are hopeful that ICC will give us the opportunity to play in Sri Lanka. It is our government who has decided not to go to India.”
Echoing these views, Bangladesh’s Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul said the decision was final and rooted in genuine security concerns, adding that the board felt it had not received fair treatment from the ICC.
“There is no scope to change our decision. We believe we did not get justice from the ICC. We still hope that ICC will justice with us,” Asif Nazrul said.
“The security situation in India remains unchanged. Our security concerns did not materialise out of thin air. It stemmed from a real incident.
“The country [India] could not provide security for one of our cricketers. In that country, the cricket board is an extended part of the government, which either failed or was reluctant to give one of my cricketers protection when put under pressure by extremist groups,” he added.
Bangladesh are drawn in Group C and were scheduled to play their first three matches in Kolkata, against West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9, and England on February 14, before concluding their group stage against Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.
READ: Pakistan might boycott T20 World Cup if Bangladesh opt out: reports
Following the decision, BCB Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul added, “We want to play and hope that the ICC will still consider our request.”
Yesterday, the ICC granted the BCB an additional day to consult with the Bangladesh government and decide whether their team will travel to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
If Bangladesh maintains its refusal to play in India due to security concerns, the ICC Board has decided that Scotland will replace them in the tournament, based on team rankings.
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The ICC had earlier confirmed that the T20 World Cup 2026 will proceed as scheduled from February 7 to March 8, with matches in India.
