Former South African captain AB de Villiers expressed deep disappointment over the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to exclude Bangladesh from the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Tuesday, describing it as “really, really sad” and damaging to the game,
The ICC recently confirmed that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the global tournament, which is scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh were left out after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declined to play their allotted matches in India, citing security concerns, and formally requested that their fixtures be shifted to Sri Lanka.
The ICC rejected the request, maintaining that there was no “credible security threat” and that a late change to the schedule was not feasible.
Speaking on his YouTube programme The 360 Show, De Villiers said he did not have enough information to take sides on the political or personal dimensions of the issue, but felt the outcome reflected poorly on international cricket.
“I don’t want to be biased on this. It’s politics, it’s personal—and I don’t have enough information to comment or give a decision on it,” the veteran said. “But what I do know is that it’s sad. It should never reach a point where teams have to pull themselves out of a tournament.”
The former Proteas great stressed that such disputes at the highest level tarnish the global image of the sport and send the wrong message to players and fans alike. He urged cricket’s power brokers to resolve conflicts through dialogue rather than allowing exclusions to occur.
“To me, this is very sad. It’s not a good look for our game,” he added. “Those who are in control and can make decisions should settle these issues.”
bd-pratidin/GR
