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Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2026 participation Live Updates: Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 is currently hanging in the balance as the standoff between the Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) continues.
With the tournament set to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February-March, the situation has escalated quickly after Bangladesh refused to travel to India over security concerns. Now, there’s a possibility of Bangladesh being replaced if they refuse to travel to India after the ICC formally rejected their request.
Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul has once again refused to travel to India and said the country is still hopeful that the ICC will reconsider its position. Bangladesh are placed in Group C of the T20 World Cup 2026 and are scheduled to play their matches in Kolkata and Mumbai.
“We are hopeful that ICC will give us the opportunity to play in Sri Lanka. It is our government that has decided not to go to India. Our concerns are genuine, but the ICC has not acknowledged them. The ICC has not accepted our position. We want to play, and we still hope that the ICC will accept our concerns,” he said.
BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul also slammed the decision and reiterated Nazrul’s comments. He said that Bangladesh want to play the World Cup, but not in India, where all of their games are scheduled to be played.
“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.
The issue started after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asked the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) franchise to release Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad. He was the only Bangladesh player sold for this year’s edition. The reason behind the decision is unknown, but it is believed that the BCCI took the step following political pressure due to attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.