Former CEO of the Asian Cricket Council, Ashraful Haque, has made a big revelation. He claimed that Bangladeshi players actually wanted to play the 2026 T20 World Cup in India, but when the Bangladesh Cricket Board decided to pull out of the tournament, the players were not even asked. Due to rising tensions between India and Bangladesh, the Bangladesh team did not go to India, and as a result, Scotland’s cricket team got the opportunity in this major event.
Earlier, the Bangladesh government had said that the decision to skip the T20 World Cup was made by the players and the board. In an interview with RevSportz, Ashraful said exactly:
Bangladesh government’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul did a complete 180-degree U-turn, saying that the decision was taken by the players and the team. Two days later, he did another 180-degree U-turn, saying that it was the government’s decision, because the players pressured them, claiming they had said nothing of the sort. “I know for sure that the players always wanted to go there. The players were never asked about this.”
So, according to him, the players’ intention was clear, but they were not consulted at all. A few days earlier, Asif Nazrul had said:
There is no question of regret over being excluded from the World Cup. This decision was taken by the BCB and the players because they made this sacrifice to protect Bangladesh cricket, public safety, and national dignity.
Whereas before, he had said that the decision not to go to India was the government’s. Now, only time will tell what is true in this 180-degree flip of statements, but one thing is certain: by not participating in the T20 World Cup, the loss is Bangladesh’s alone.