There is doubt about Bangladesh cricket team playing in the World Cup.Image Credit source: PTI
The ongoing controversy regarding Bangladesh playing in the T20 World Cup 2026 does not seem to be stopping. Due to the ongoing dispute with India, Bangladesh has refused to send its team for the tournament. The Bangladeshi board and government are continuously adopting an adamant stance and demanding to organize their matches in Sri Lanka. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has set a deadline of January 21 for a decision on this matter, but the Bangladeshi government is not ready to accept it. Bangladesh’s sports advisor has once again reiterated his demand that he will not play the World Cup in India.
There is a dispute going on between India and Bangladesh since the exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman from IPL. The Bangladeshi government and its Cricket Board (BCB) had refused to send their team to India for the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh has to play its group stage matches in India only. But Bangladesh is continuously demanding to shift them to Sri Lanka. ICC has tried many times to convince the Bangladeshi side regarding this. Even last week, ICC officials went to Bangladesh and discussed with the board.
Recently a report claimed that ICC has set the date of January 21 to take a final decision on this dispute. The ICC is hoping that Bangladesh will give up its stubbornness in this matter but it seems that it has decided to escalate the conflict with the ICC and risk losing its place in the World Cup. On January 20, a day before Wednesday’s deadline, Bangladesh government’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul said that they are not ready to change their stand on this matter and are firm on their demand of playing their matches outside India.
Nazrul has also raised questions on the claims that Scotland can be included in the tournament instead of Bangladesh. Recent reports had claimed that if Bangladesh does not soften its stance, the ICC may throw it out of the tournament. In such a situation, Scotland may get its place. Nazrul said, “I have no information about Scotland. If ICC comes under pressure from the Indian Cricket Board and imposes unnecessary conditions on us, then we will not accept it. Earlier too, Pakistan had refused to go to India due to security reasons and ICC had accepted their request. We are also demanding the same but we will not tolerate pressure.”