Security risk and hopes of justice: What Bangladesh officials said while effectively boycotting T20 World Cup

Bangladesh will not be taking part in the 2026 T20 World Cup if their matches are not moved outside India, the government and the cricket board of the country announced on Thursday after the International Cricket Council (ICC) had given them a day to further think over their demands. With ICC having ruled out any change in schedule, Bangladesh’s decision means that they have effectively pulled out of the tournament.

Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul and the players of the national team met today in Dhaka to decide on the future course of action regarding the tournament. After the meeting, which went on for more than an hour, Nazrul announced that Bangladesh was adamant in its demand of not going to India for the event.

No scope of changing decision, says Nazrul

After the much-anticipated meeting with players, Bangladesh sports advisor once again refused to travel to India as he said the security risks continued to be there for the team.

“There is no scope to change our decision. We are not giving up yet. Our team is ready, and we still hope that the ICC will deliver justice. We want the ICC to take our genuine security risk into consideration and allow us to play in Sri Lanka,” Nazrul said after his meeting with the players.

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“There has been no change in the security risk situation regarding playing in India at present. This concern is not based on any abstract or hypothetical idea; rather, it stems from a real incident in which the Indian cricket board failed to provide security to one of our top players [Mustafizur Rahman] under pressure from extremists, and he was asked to leave India.

“Since the Indian cricket board is effectively an extended arm of the government and could not ensure the safety of even a single player, no assurance has been given by the ICC or the Indian government that they would be able to guarantee the security of our entire team, journalists, and spectators,” he added.

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“Let me tell you clearly. It is the government’s decision not to play in India due to security concerns,” he said.

BCB head says ICC will lose viewership if Bangladesh don’t play

Bangladesh Cricket Board president Aminul Islam said that it will be big loss for ICC if the global body do not accept their demand of shifting matches outside India.

“We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka. They did give us a 24 hour ultimatum but a global body can’t really do that. ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss… ICC is calling Sri Lanka co-hosts. They are not co-hosts. It is a hybrid model. Some of the things I heard in the ICC meeting was shocking,” Islam said.

The T20 World Cup begins February 7 with Bangladesh scheduled to play on the opening day. It is highly likely now that Scotland, the highest ranked team not qualified for the World Cup, will replace Bangladesh in the tournament.