Why the Bangladesh cricket team did not come to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup remains a mystery. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cited that due to security concerns, they were not willing to send the team to India.
Months after the controversial situation involving the BCB, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mehdi Hasan provided insight behind the BCB’s controversial approach.
Bangladesh Cricket Board did not want to send its team to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
They were ultimately ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision not to send its national cricket team. BCB asked ICC to shift its matches from India. The 2026 T20 World Cup was jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Therefore BCB wanted to play its matches in Sri Lanka.
The demand made by the cricket board with the support of the Pakistan Cricket Board came just days before the inauguration of the tournament.
Mehdi Hasan believes Bangladesh did not play 2026 T20 World Cup due to political reasons
Throughout the year, teams from all over the world keep coming to India to play matches. No team has made India an unsafe place to play cricket. Then why does Bangladesh Cricket Board make such a claim?
Bangladesh cricket star Mehdi Hasan noted that, more than cricket reasons, the decision taken by the board was mostly for political reasons. At least he thought so.
Mehdi Hassan told RavSportz, “Actually, I think these are political issues; I never thought of it that way.”
There was political tension between India and Bangladesh when the BCB went against the ICC schedule for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Amid political tension, the BCCI has forced Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to drop Bangladesh national cricket team fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from its squad for the 2026 season.
Mustafizur Rahman’s neglect has reportedly become a big issue in Bangladesh cricket. After Rahman’s IPL 2026 contract expired, the BCB did not want to travel to India.
The ICC repeatedly held talks with Bangladesh cricket officials to try to convince them to take part in the tournament on Indian soil, but the issue remained unresolved. Ultimately, when the BCB stood firm on its stand, the International Cricket Council under Jay Shah dropped them from the T20 World Cup 2026 and included Scotland as a replacement.
“I think everyone has to play the World Cup”: Mehdi Hasan on playing in the World Cup
Mehdi Hasan further said that every cricketer’s dream is to play the World Cup, especially the new players who were about to play their first World Cup. Hasan claimed that everyone could understand that the decision not to play in the ICC competition was politically influenced.
He said, “I think everyone has to play the World Cup; everyone has to dream. Some of the new players who are coming, some of them have to play the T20 World Cup, but it has happened; I think it is a political issue; everyone knows that is the thing.”
Exclusive
Decision not to go to India to play in T20 World Cup was politically motivated: Mehdi Miraj
Bangladesh’s ODI captain Mehdi Hasan Miraz described the decision not to participate in the T20 World Cup in India as “politically motivated” and said it is every player’s dream to play in the T20 World Cup in India. pic.twitter.com/P0rtZwVDmn
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) July 25, 2026