Overview:
BCB will urge the ICC to shift Bangladesh's games to Sri Lanka due to safety concerns for their players.
Bangladesh’s interim government has instructed the Bangladesh Cricket Board to consult the ICC on moving the team’s ICC T20 World Cup 2026 matches out of India. It was confirmed by Bangladesh’s sports adviser, Asif Nazrul, who took to social media to reveal the next move after Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the IPL 2026.
Sri Lanka is likely to be an alternative venue for Bangladesh’s matches in the global tournament. The issue was discussed during an emergency meeting of the Bangladesh Cricket Board. The Indian Cricket Board directed the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur after facing massive backlash on social media for signing the speedster despite attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.
Nazrul said that they will not accept the humiliation of Bangladesh cricket.
“The Indian cricket board has been pressurised by extremist communal forces, and they directed the Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from the squad. I condemn the move,” Asif Nazrul wrote on Facebook.
“As the minister in charge of the Sports Ministry, I have told our cricket board to write to the ICC explaining the entire matter. It should be written that if a Bangladeshi player is not allowed to play in India despite a contract, then Bangladesh can’t send their players to India for the World Cup due to security concerns. I have instructed the board to urge that Bangladesh’s matches in the World Cup be held in Sri Lanka,” he added.
“There will be no broadcast of IPL matches in Bangladesh. We will not accept the humiliation of Bangladesh, Bangladeshi cricket, or Bangladeshi cricketers,” he concluded.
On Saturday, the BCCI asked the Kolkata Knight Riders, who had signed Rahman for INR 9.20 crore, to part ways with the player and allowed the three-time champions to seek a replacement.
BCB will urge the ICC to shift Bangladesh’s games to Sri Lanka due to safety concerns for their players.
“We will have to speak to the ICC as India is hosting the tournament,” BCB president Aminul Islam was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Media committee chairman Amzad Hossain mentioned that the final decision would rest with the ICC.
“The ICC will make the final call about the venue. The safety of our players is our topmost priority, and we will do everything to ensure that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the BCCI will also put the upcoming tour of Bangladesh on hold. The Men in Blue were scheduled to play three ODIs and three T20Is in Bangladesh, but the apex body of the Indian cricket will postpone the visit indefinitely due to security concerns.