Describing the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) stance as unfair, Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul has said that Bangladesh’s position on the T20 World Cup is final, with no scope for reversing the decision.
He said Bangladesh would not change its position on playing the World Cup in India, arguing that the ICC ignored Bangladesh’s security concerns.
“There is no question of travelling to India by overlooking security risks,” he asserted.
On Thursday, the adviser held a meeting with members of the T20 World Cup squad along with senior BCB officials.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Asif Nazrul reiterated that there was no room to change the decision not to travel to India.
He said the ICC had failed to deliver fair treatment by rejecting Bangladesh’s reasonable request for a venue change. Despite this, he expressed hope that the game’s governing body would eventually take a just decision.
Following discussions with the board and the players, Asif Nazrul made it clear that Bangladesh would not travel to India for the World Cup while security concerns remain unresolved. However, he said Bangladesh would be ready to take part in the tournament if the matches are staged in Sri Lanka.
Earlier, the ICC convened a virtual meeting to discuss Bangladesh’s World Cup participation. After the meeting, it was announced that if Bangladesh refused to play in India, an alternative team would be included in their place. The ICC also issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the BCB to communicate its decision.
During the meeting, Bangladesh’s proposal for a venue change was rejected through a vote. Representatives of all boards except Pakistan voted in favour of including Scotland in the main draw in place of Bangladesh. Fifteen ICC directors were present at the meeting.
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