Bangladesh’s chances of playing the T20 World Cup 2026 are getting slimmer by the hour. On Thursday, their participation took a severe hit after the Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul ordered the Bangladesh Cricket Board and its players not to travel to India due to security concerns.
The decision has all but confirmed Bangladesh’s exit, with the ICC likely to release an official statement sometime today or tomorrow and confirm Scotland as a replacement.
And to think that all of this could have been avoided. A cricket-crazy nation like Bangladesh has always added to the excitement of the game on a global stage. And it’s unfortunate that politics and external factors have played a role in what could be a significant step back for Bangladesh cricket. Their involvement in the T20 World Cup was always under the scanner since the BCCI told Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from its squad over the reported Hindu killings in Bangladesh. But when the ICC gave the BCB 24 hours to decide, the players were hopeful the government would support them.
Nonetheless, when orders were directed to the BCB and its players, surreal scenes emerged. As per a PTI report, the players remained tight-lipped, afraid to speak their minds because of something that had transpired recently. Tamim Iqbal, one of the longest-standing servants of Bangladesh cricket and possibly Bangladesh’s second-biggest cricketer after Shakib-Al-Hasan, was called an Indian agent by M Nazmul Islam, a former BCB official, all because he urged the board not to get carried away with emotions while deciding its stance on travelling to India. The remark invited the wrath of players, and while Nazmul stepped down by the post, the derogatory take left a mental scar.
“Today, when they met Asif Nazrul, the government advisor did most of the talking with occasional comments from Bulbul bhai. The players mostly kept quiet. The senior players feel that if someone of Tamim Iqbal’s stature could be disrespected, they could face even bigger backlash,” the source told PTI on anonymity.
These are interesting times for Bangladesh. On the one hand, while its cricket is surrounded by T20 World Cup preparations, the Bangladesh elections will take place on February 12, five days into the ICC event. The PTI report also claims that the individual most upset about it all is BCB president and former cricketer, Animul Islam. Animul is the country’s first-ever Test centurion, having scored 100 on Bangladesh’s debut 25 years ago against India in Dhaka, and it pains him to see the country’s cricket affected.
“Bulbul bhai was ICC’s Game Development Officer for 10 years before he came back to Bangladesh Cricket Board. He knows everyone in the ICC, but strangely at the final board meeting, he was cornered. Save Pakistan’s token support, there was no one in his favour. Even Sri Lanka Cricket, the country of their choice didn’t support them,” the source added.
If Bangladesh don’t play the T20 World Cup, they are staring a huge financial loss, estimated at around BDT 325 crore. To make matters worse, the loss in broadcast and sponsorship revenue, and the financial year income could incur a hit of around 60 per cent or more.