Key Points
- Bangladesh's participation in the T20 World Cup hangs in the balance after they refused to send its national team to India citing security reasons.
- The ICC had rejected Bangladesh Cricket Board's request to move their matches out of India for the T20 World Cup..
- Bangladesh's sports advisor Asif Nazrul saoid ICC's assessment that there is no specific or heightened threat to their cricket team in India was not acceptable to them.
International Cricket Council Chairman Jay Shah is contemplating strict action against Bangladesh if they do not travel to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026, ICC sources said on Friday.
The sources further added that ICC Chairman is in Dubai for the final call on the issue.
Bangladesh's participation in the T20 World Cup hangs in the balance after they refused to send its national team to India citing security reasons.
The ICC had given Bangladesh an ultimatum: Agree to play in India or risk being replaced, but adopting a stubborn stance, Bangladesh's sports advisor Asif Nazrul on Thursday, January 22, 2026, announced that the ICC's assessment that there is no specific or heightened threat to their cricket team in India was not acceptable to them.
The ICC had rejected the BCB's request to move their matches out of India for the T20 World Cup.
Independent risk assessments, carried out by internationally recognised security experts, do not conclude that Bangladesh cannot play its scheduled T20 World Cup matches in India, ICC sources said earlier this week, noting that the overall security risk for the tournament in India has been assessed as low to moderate, which is consistent with the profile of many major global sporting events.
The sources said that the assessments did not identify any specific or direct threat to the Bangladesh team, team officials, or match venues in India.
They said based on the professional advice received, the risk associated with Bangladesh's scheduled fixtures in Kolkata and Mumbai is assessed as low to moderate, with no indication of risks that cannot be effectively managed through established security planning and mitigation measures.
Why Bangladesh refused to travel to India?
Bangladesh Cricket Board president Aminul Islam said on Thursday that Bangladesh stands firm in its decision not to play its World Cup matches in India, following the ICC's rejection of its request.
"We will continue to communicate with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we won't play in India. We will keep fighting. There were some shocking calls in the ICC Board Meeting. The Mustafizur issue is not an isolated single issue. They (India) were the sole decision makers in that issue," he said.
"ICC had denied us our request to shift our matches away from India. We are not sure about the status of world cricket. Its popularity is going down. They have locked away 200 million people. Cricket is going to the Olympics, but if a country like us is not going there, it is ICC's failure," he added.
Bangladesh's Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul pointed out that the ICC failed to convince them on security concerns in India.
"ICC has failed to convince us on the security question. ICC has not taken any stand on our grievances. Even the Indian government did not communicate with us, or try to assuage our fears," Asif Nazrul said.
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