Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) again clarified its stand on Thursday. Asif Nazrul, sports advisor to the Bangladesh government, told reporters that even after applying to the International Cricket Council (ICC), they did not get any clarity on the safety of their players in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from the first week of February 2026.
The BCB had applied to the council to shift its matches from India to Sri Lanka citing security concerns after star Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was ignored from the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL 2026).
From the IPL 2026 mini auction, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) bought Rahman for a huge price. But after the instructions of BCCI, they had to release this fast bowler, due to which the relations between India and Bangladesh got spoiled.
Bangladesh cricket team for ICC T20 World Cup 2026 remains uncertain
Bangladesh’s cricket governing body took BCCI’s decision to ban Rahman from IPL 2026 very seriously and took further steps to put pressure on the Indian cricket board. Bangladesh has to play all its group matches in Kolkata, which is now full of uncertainty. The BCB negotiated with the council to shift the World Cup venues out of India to Sri Lanka but did not get the desired response from the ICC, leaving BCB officials quite upset.
On Wednesday, it was reported that instead of accepting BCB’s plea to move the venues, the ICC gave the Bangladesh Cricket Board 24 hours to decide on their participation. The ICC is keeping Scotland as a standby option if the Bangladesh cricket team refuses to travel to India.
Mustafizur Rahman ignored from IPL 2026 again
On Thursday, Nazrul held a meeting with the Bangladesh cricket team to discuss the current scenario. After the meeting, the official told reporters that they want to participate in the T20 World Cup 2026, but they want assurance regarding the safety of the players. He also raised the Mustafizur Rahman topic in support of his comments.
“I feel we did not get justice from the ICC. Whether we play in the World Cup or not is entirely a government decision. Nothing has happened in India in recent times to show that things have changed there (in terms of security). We hope the ICC will give us justice.”
“Security will be the responsibility of that country’s police and security agencies. So what has changed since that incident to give us confidence that there will not be another extremist flare-up? They couldn’t protect Mustafizur – so what has changed? How can we be assured that they can protect our players, journalists and supporters?” Bangladesh government’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul raised questions.
Nazrul claimed that the ICC did not take his request seriously enough and failed to persuade him. He even said that the Indian government did not even make any efforts to reassure Bangladesh about their security concerns in India.
Bangladesh government unhappy with ICC and Indian government
“The ICC has made no effort to convince us. They ignored the actual incident and only talked about their standard security procedures. They did not take a proper stance on the genuine complaint.”
He said, “Even the Indian government made no effort to convince us that the incident involving Mustafizur was isolated, or that they were sorry, or that they were taking steps. They made no effort to contact us, made no effort to reassure us about the safety of our journalists, spectators and players. So, there is no scope for changing our decision.”
Also Read: Sydney Sixers Playing XI vs Hobart Hurricanes Playing XI – BBL Challenger, Big Bash League 2025-26
