The International Cricket Council (ICC) refused to move Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches out of India to Sri Lanka, giving the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) 24 hours to take a final call on their participation in the tournament.
If Bangladesh refuse to travel to India for the 20-team competition, then Scotland would replace them in Group C. On Wednesday, the apex body issued an official statement confirming that the original schedule will be followed and that there will be no changes.
The whole standoff between the ICC and BCB began after Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) despite being picked for INR 9.20 crore. The call was made after being directed to do so by the BCCI, and the Indian board’s hand was also forced, as there was growing anger against Rahman playing in the IPL after incidents of multiple Hindus being killed in Bangladesh.
The BCB repeatedly cited security concerns as the primary reason for not travelling to India. However, the ICC laid down the facts, claiming that the BCB stood by its position by repeatedly linking the tournament’s participation to what happened with Rahman and his IPL contract.
“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its players’ involvement in a domestic league,” the ICC spokesperson said in an official release.
“This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the spokesperson added.
‘No security threat’
Bangladesh are scheduled to play all its Group C matches in India across two venues: Eden Gardens in Kolkata and Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The side are slated to begin their campaign on February 7 against the West Indies.
The ICC was quite clear in its communication, stating that the schedule cannot be changed at the last minute because it would be a logistical nightmare. The apex body also stated that an independent review of the security threat was conducted, and there is no major concern for Bangladesh.
“The ICC’s venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and the tournament’s agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures,” the ICC said.
“Doing so would carry significant logistical and scheduling consequences for other teams and fans worldwide, and would also create far-reaching precedent-related challenges that risk undermining the neutrality, fairness, and integrity of ICC governance,” the body added.
According to reports, in the ICC Meeting conducted on Wednesday, only two boards voted in favour of changing the original schedule, while all 14 remaining members voted in favour of having the original itinerary.