Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla has embarrassed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi by reminding him of Pakistan’s cruelty towards Bangladesh in the past.
Rajeev Shukla said that Pakistan is interfering in the ICC-Bangladesh-BCCI matter without any reason ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, and he played a major role in ousting the Bangla Tigers from the prestigious event.
Bangladesh out of ICC T20 World Cup 2026
The Bangla Tigers were all set to play the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
However, they will now be missing from the tournament as Scotland have replaced them in Group C after refusing to participate in the ICC Men’s T20 World 2026 as per the match schedule published by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Scotland will join England, Italy, Nepal and West Indies in the group.
The reason given by the BCB for not touring India was the security threat to their players, and when the ICC conducted its independent assessment, they found no such problems and urged Bangladesh to tour India by guaranteeing complete security.
Despite this, Bangladesh refused the ICC and during a high-profile meeting between officials and all cricket boards it was decided that Bangladesh would be replaced by Scotland.
However, the only nation that has consistently supported Bangladesh has been Pakistan. Despite having nothing to do with them, Pakistan has threatened to boycott the T20 World Cup in protest against the ICC.
Everyone knows the cruelty that Pakistan inflicted on Bangladeshis – BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla
When Rajiv Shukla was asked about Pakistan’s unnecessary interference in the ICC-Bangladesh-BCCI T20 World Cup situation, he left no stone unturned in making his point. Rajeev Shukla said Pakistan was provoking Bangladesh, misleading them and cited the horrors of Pakistan’s 1971 massacre and rape to hit back at Mohsin Naqvi.
Shukla told ANI on Monday, “Pakistan is interfering in the matter without any reason and provoking Bangladesh… Everyone knows the cruelty inflicted on Bangladeshis by Pakistan and now they are trying to mislead them, which is completely wrong….”
“We wanted Bangladesh to play and we also assured complete security, but since they have taken this decision, it is very difficult to change the entire schedule at the last minute. That is why Scotland was brought in,” he said.
#Watch | Delhi On Scotland replacing Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla says, “We wanted Bangladesh to play and we had also assured complete security, but since they have taken this decision, it is very difficult to change it… pic.twitter.com/HZ7XecHOAX
– ANI (@ANI) 26 January 2026
Notably, Pakistan and Bangladesh were one country since 1947, but separated in 1971 due to deep inequality and oppression. Bangladesh, formerly called East Pakistan, had a large population, power and resources, but was controlled by West Pakistan.
When Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s party’s election victory in 1970 was ignored, democratic rights were denied to Bangladesh and in March 1971, the Pakistani Army launched Operation Searchlight, which involved mass killings, massacres, systematic rape of women, targeted students, intellectuals and minorities and massacred millions of civilians, making coexistence impossible and forcing Bangladesh to fight a liberation war. As a result of which Pakistan had to surrender on 16 December 1971 and Bangladesh became an independent nation.
Also read: Due to the biggest crisis of T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan is ready to boycott the match with India.
His demise is a big loss – BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla on Inderjit Singh Bindra
Speaking on the demise of former BCCI President Inderjit Singh Bindra, BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla said:
“His demise is a big loss. He made significant contributions both at the ICC and national level. I remember when we won the World Cup in 1983, we had no money to give to the players. With the help of Lata Mangeshkar ji, each player got Rs 1 lakh… Now that he is no longer with us, we pay our respects to him.”
BCCI Vice President Rajeev Shukla also talked about Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur being honored with Padma Shri. He said:
“Rohit Sharma deserves it for the way he performed… It should have been given earlier, but we congratulate him for this award. It is right that Harmanpreet Kaur gets this award for her performance, as does para athlete Praveen Kumar…”
