The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reacted to the controversy over Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to play its upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 matches outside India. Board secretary Devjit Saikia said that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will take a decision on the matter.
BCB has repeatedly asked ICC to shift the matches of this prestigious tournament from India to Sri Lanka citing security concerns. The request came after fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on the instructions of BCCI.
Talking is not our area – BCCI secretary on Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup match request
Senior BCCI officials met in Mumbai to review the work at the Center of Excellence and discuss other key issues with a special focus on youth cricket. Devjit Saikia, President Mithun Manhas, Vice President Rajeev Shukla and COE Cricket Head VVS Laxman attended the meeting.
After the meeting Saikia was asked about Bangladesh’s request to avoid playing in India. He said that the subject is not under the responsibility of BCCI and said that the meeting was only about cricket-related matters.
“The meeting was about CoE and other cricket matters. It is not our jurisdiction to talk about it (as the final decision on Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup rests with the ICC)Saikia was quoted as saying by PTI.
We assessed the vacancies in CoE – Devjit Saikia
There are still vacancies in some key technical roles at the Center of Excellence, even though it has been fully operational since April last year. The vacant roles include Head of Education and Head of Sports Science.
Devjit Saikia said that the board has reviewed the issue and the appointment process will be started soon. He said that there is a shortage of technical experts globally, but BCCI wants to fill the posts as soon as possible.
Saikia said, “We assessed the vacancies in the CoE and decided to go ahead with the recruitment process soon. There is a huge shortage of technical personnel across the world, but we are trying to fill the posts as soon as possible.”
We thought it was the right time to do a review – Devjit Saikia
Devjit Saikia said that the BCCI felt that this was the right time to closely review the functioning of the Center of Excellence and plan the next steps. He said matches are being held on all three grounds of the facility, including the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy games.
“We thought it was high time to review the preparations and activities of the CoE. We are hosting matches on three grounds there (including the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy). We also talked about how the A tours should be scheduled going forward.”
“In some situations, the A team and the senior team are touring together at the same time. We need to ensure that there is no overlap. The A tour is an important supply line of cricketers,” the Assam cricketer-turned-lawyer said.
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