Dhaka (Bangladesh): A high-level meeting held in Bangladesh regarding the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup has resulted in a major decision, with the Bangladesh government making it clear that the national team will not travel to India for the tournament. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has also decided to once again appeal to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to reconsider its stance on hosting the matches in India.
Earlier, the ICC had outrightly rejected Bangladesh’s request to shift the matches out of India. However, following the latest deliberations, the BCB has resolved to continue pressing the global cricket body on the issue.
BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul, while briefing the media about the meeting, said Bangladesh remains keen to participate in the World Cup but not on Indian soil. “We will continue discussions with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we will not play in India. We will keep fighting,” he said. Bulbul also pointed out that some “surprising decisions” were taken at the ICC board meeting and clarified that the issue involving Mustafizur Rahman was not a separate matter. According to him, India was the sole decision-maker in this regard.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the ICC’s response, Bulbul said the request to move the matches out of India had been rejected despite broader concerns about the state of world cricket. He remarked that while cricket is set to return to the Olympics, the exclusion or withdrawal of countries like Bangladesh would reflect a failure of the ICC.
Meanwhile, the ICC has finalised the inclusion of Scotland as another participant in the T20 World Cup 2026 based on ICC rankings. Scotland will now be placed in Group C, which was originally allotted to Bangladesh. This means there will be no change to the tournament schedule, and Scotland will play the fixtures that were earlier designated for Bangladesh.
The situation has added a new layer of uncertainty to the T20 World Cup preparations, with all eyes now on the ICC’s response to Bangladesh’s renewed appeal.
