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ICC willing to address concerns about playing in India: BCB
BCB denied reports that the world body had issued an ultimatum and had rejected its request for relocating its T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka
New Delhi/Mumbai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has pledged to work closely with the Bangladesh Cricket Board and ensure the team’s “full and uninterrupted participation”, the national body (BCB) said on Wednesday as uncertainty over it playing T20 World Cup games in India continued.
The BCB, in a statement, denied reports that the world body had effectively issued an ultimatum and had rejected its request for switching its games from India to Sri Lanka, the co-host. Media reported that ICC held talks with BCB representatives on Tuesday and had said Bangladesh will forfeit points if it did not play in India as scheduled.
“The BCB has received response from the ICC regarding the Board’s expressed concerns over the safety and security of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team in India for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, including the request for relocation of the team’s matches,” the BCB statement said. The 20-team tournament is scheduled from February 7 to March 8.
BCB president and former Bangladesh skipper Aminul Islam told HT that there was no truth to the reports on an ICC ultimatum.
The formal statement was issued later said: “The ICC has conveyed its willingness to work closely with the BCB to address the concerns raised and has assured that the Board’s inputs will be welcomed and duly considered as part of the detailed security planning for the event.
“The BCB has also taken note of certain reports published in a section of the media suggesting that the Board has been issued an ultimatum in this regard. The BCB categorically states that such claims are completely false, unfounded and do not reflect the nature or content of the communication received from the ICC.”
The statement added: “The Board will continue constructive engagement with the ICC and relevant event authorities in a cooperative and professional manner to arrive at an affable and practical solution that ensures the smooth and successful participation of the team in the World Cup.”
ICC did not confirm or deny the matter. BCB had written to ICC on Jan 4 that they will not be able to send the team to India for the World Cup, citing security concerns. The decision came after Kolkata Knight Riders released Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman, bought in last month’s IPL player auction for Rs.9.2 crore, on Saturday after BCCI directed it to with BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia pointing to “recent developments” amid deterioration in the bilateral relations between the neighbours.
On Wednesday afternoon, Aminul Islam and a group of BCB directors had a meeting with the Bangladesh interim administration’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul. After the meeting, Islam told the local media in Dhaka that BCB’s safety concerns travelling to India went beyond the players.
“We first wrote to the ICC regarding the importance of security and safety. While our scope is limited to looking after the players, there is a large population beyond them, including journalists, sponsors and cricket lovers,” he said. “Since a government order is required for any overseas trip, we are seeking the government’s guidance. If safety and security do not improve, we will continue to fight for our rights regarding this World Cup. This is a valid concern. We’ve played many World Cups before, but never raised such issues until now.”
BCCI secretary Saikia and vice-president Rajiv Shukla had informal discussions with ICC chairman Jay Shah on Monday at BCCI’s Mumbai headquarters. According to people in the know in BCCI, the board is willing to facilitate a recce team from Bangladesh coming to India for security evaluation. There is precedence of cricket teams, especially Pakistan, sending recce teams to assess security in India before a tour. Such an assessment led to a venue change of the India-Pakistan 2016 T20 World Cup tie from Dharamsala to Kolkata.
In their discussions over a call on Tuesday, ICC is known to have communicated to BCB that there was no tangible security threat to the Bangladesh team in India. ICC is also aware that forfeiture of Bangladesh’s league matches would mean four “no contests” in the 55-match competition, hardly ideal from a broadcaster’s standpoint.
That said, Bangladesh league matches not being a huge draw means BCB has limited power to negotiate. Bangladesh, placed in Group C, are scheduled to play their first three matches in Kolkata: on February 7 (vs West Indies), February 9 (vs Italy) and February 14 (vs England) with their final group game, against Nepal, in Mumbai on February 17.
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