The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) denied that a January 21 deadline was set for them by the International Cricket Council to confirm their participation in the ICC T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 onwards, with media committee chairman Amjad Hossain stating that ICC has not mentioned any "specific date" for Bangladesh.
It was reported that ICC has told the BCB to confirm their participation in the T20 World Cup by Wednesday, January 21.
If the BCB refuses to send its team to India, the ICC is likely to name a replacement. As per the current rankings, Bangladesh could be replaced by Scotland if they don't stick to the deadline.
However, Hossain revealed that that Bangladesh had once again informed the ICC representatives during a meeting that they won't travel to India and want their matches shifted out of the country.
'ICC has not mentioned a specific date'
"Last Saturday, on January 17, an ICC representative came, and our cricket board representatives held a meeting with him. There, in regards to World Cup participation, there was issue with the venue, and we informed them about our reluctance to play in that venue. We requested an alternate venue and we held detailed discussions with the representatives. They told us that they will inform the ICC about the issues and will let us know about the decision later on," Hossain was quoted as saying by Daily Star.
"In regards to these talks, they have not mentioned a specific date or when they will let us know. They just told us that they will let us know when the next discussion will take place. Thank you," he added.
During Saturday's discussions, which marked the second meeting between the two parties in the same week, the BCB once again was firm in their stance of not playing their T20 World Cup matches in India.
On the other hand, ICC is firm on not changing the original schedule, in which Bangladesh is in Group C with Italy, New Zealand, West Indies and Nepal. For three weeks, no final decision has come, and the opening game of Bangladesh is just three weeks away, against the West Indies at Kolkata on February 7. They will play two more group stage matches at Kolkata's iconic Eden Gardens, followed by their final group stage game in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.
During talks on Saturday, it was also understood that ICC did not agree to having Bangladesh and Ireland swap groups, taking Bangladesh to Group B, making them play their opening games in Sri Lanka. ICC is also understood to have assured the BCB that there is no security threat to the Bangladesh team in India.
Key Points:
- The Bangladesh Cricket Board is adamant in their stance of not playing their T20 World Cup matches in India.
- On the other hand, ICC is firm on not changing the original schedule, which has Bangladesh playing all their four group games in India.
- The T20 World Cup to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka will begin on February 7.
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