New Delhi: The Bangladesh government on Thursday announced that its cricket team will not travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026. After a meeting between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), Bangladesh’s cricketers, and the government’s sports advisor in Dhaka, Bangladesh remained firm on their stance of not travelling to India for their T20 World Cup matches in India, and have demanded that their fixtures be moved to Sri Lanka.
Addressing reporters in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, the BCB President Aminul Islam confirmed that Bangladesh won’t travel to India for the T20 World Cup. However, Islam also said that BCB will once again go back to the ICC today for a last effort, requesting a shift of venue.
BCB president Aminul Islam said: “We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka. They did give us a 24-hour ultimatum, but a global body can’t really do that. ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss. ICC is calling Sri Lanka co-hosts. They are not co-hosts. It is a hybrid model. Some of the things I heard in the ICC meeting was shocking.”
Meanwhile, government sports adviser Asif Nazrul: “We are hopeful that ICC will give us the opportunity to play in Sri Lanka. It is our government that has decided not to go to India.”
On Wednesday, the ICC dismissed the BCB’s security concerns in India and said that Bangladesh would be replaced at the T20 World Cup if they continue to refuse to travel to India.
(More to follow)..