The T20 World Cup next month will be jointly held in India and Sri Lanka, with Bangladesh scheduled to play its matches in India. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced that it will not be sending the team to India.
This decision was made in a meeting held today with 17 board directors.
Following the exclusion of Bangladesh's left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL, BCB directors had an online meeting on Saturday night.
During the meeting, most of the directors had advised against taking any harsh measures. However, after intervention from the government, they reversed their decision.
Cricket operations chairman Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, said,"We will officially announce our position on this shortly through a press release."
The BCB's main concerns include the recent political unrest, the rise of hateful comments on social media, and the controversy over Mustafizur Rahman's removal from the IPL.
Particularly, the decision by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to drop Mustafiz from the Kolkata Knight Riders squad has raised further security concerns for the BCB.
In this context, the BCB has made it clear in an email to the ICC that, due to security concerns, sending the team to India for the T20 World Cup will not be possible.
The BCB has also requested that, if necessary, Bangladesh's World Cup matches be held in Sri Lanka.
It is worth noting that India and Sri Lanka are the joint hosts for the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup. According to the schedule, Bangladesh will face the West Indies in Kolkata on the first day of the tournament, February 7. The other three group matches were also scheduled to be held in Kolkata and Mumbai.
On Sunday morning, the BCB announced a 15-member squad for the World Cup, with Litton Das named as the captain.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
