- Conflicting reports surface following contact between ICC and BCB.
- ICC tells Bangladesh to travel to India for tournament or lose points.
- BCB denies receiving any such warning or ultimatum by global body.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly turned down Bangladesh’s request to move their T20 World Cup 2026 matches out of India.
Conflicting reports have surfaced following a contact between the ICC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Tuesday regarding Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup in India.
The ICC informed the BCB during a virtual meeting that their request to stage its World Cup matches outside India, citing security concerns, had been rejected, ESPNcricinfo reported.
The ICC has reportedly conveyed to BCB that Bangladesh would be required to travel to India for the tournament or face the possibility of losing points. However, the BCB has said that it was not given any such warning or ultimatum by the global body.
Neither the BCCI nor the BCB has released an official statement outlining the outcome of the call, which was organised by the ICC after the BCB wrote on Sunday asking the council to “consider” shifting Bangladesh’s matches away from India.
However, BCB sources told Geo News that the board received an email from the ICC late at night, where the global body sought further explanation of the former’s security concerns cited in the initial email.
The insiders said that the ICC has sought details from Bangladesh regarding the nature of the security concerns.
They said the BCB will submit a detailed response to the ICC later today.
This issue emerged less than a month before the 20-team tournament begins, with matches scheduled in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
Bangladesh, drawn in Group C, are set to play their opening three fixtures in Kolkata, against West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9, and England on February 14, before completing the group stage with a match against Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.
The BCB had approached the ICC after the BCCI reportedly directed Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman.
The BCCI’s secretary, Devajit Saikia, informed the media of the decision, although no explanation was given for asking KKR to let go of Mustafizur, who was the sole Bangladesh player bought at the 2026 auction.
It may be noted that the IPL Governing Council did not convene to deliberate on the matter, leaving uncertainty over who, apart from Saikia, was involved in taking the decision regarding Mustafizur.
