Bangladesh firm despite World Cup omission threat
"We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka," says BCB chief
By Alam Zeb Safi
LAHORE: Bangladesh’s cricket authorities stood their ground on Thursday, reaffirming that the national team will not travel to India for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup, even at the risk of being omitted from the global tournament, in a standoff with the sport’s governing body over security concerns.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), backed by government sports advisers and senior players, reiterated its demand that all of the team’s matches be shifted to co-host Sri Lanka, citing what it described as credible security risks if the squad were to play in Indian venues.
“We will go back to the International Cricket Council with our plan to play in Sri Lanka,” BCB president Aminul Islam told reporters after a meeting in Dhaka on Thursday that also included the government’s sports adviser and several national team members. “They gave us an ultimatum, but a global body can’t really do that.”
The standoff escalated after the ICC rejected Bangladesh’s plea to relocate its group-stage fixtures – scheduled in Kolkata and Mumbai – outside India, saying independent security assessments showed no credible threat to players, officials or fans and that altering the schedule this close to the tournament could set an undesirable precedent.
Bangladesh are in Group C alongside England, Italy, West Indies and Nepal, and were due to open their campaign against West Indies on Feb. 7 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
“We are hopeful the ICC will take into account our genuine concern and give us the opportunity to play in the World Cup,” said sports adviser Asif Nazrul, underlining the government’s position that the decision not to send the team to India stems from safety considerations.
Officials have linked their stance to a diplomatic spat with India that spilled into cricket, including the surprise removal of Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League, which Dhaka viewed as politically motivated.
The ICC has given Bangladesh a short window to reconsider, warning that failure to confirm participation in line with the existing schedule could see them replaced in the tournament.
Bangladesh’s decision puts pressure on cricket’s broader governance in a region where geopolitical tensions have increasingly affected sport, raising the prospect that one of the game’s rising teams could miss out on its showcase event.
