Bangladesh refuse to travel to India for T20 World Cup, revoke Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL NOC after release from KKR squad

The Bangladesh Cricket Board has responded sternly to Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision to release pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad after being advised to do so by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Not only has the BCB revoked Mustafizur’s No Objection Certificate for the Indian Premier League with immediate effect, they have also decided against traveling to India for next month’s T20 World Cup.

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According to a report on Cricbuzz, the decision was taken during a meeting between BCB officials and concerned authorities. The BCB had earlier sent letters to the ICC as well as the BCCI enquiring the security status in India, but have since changed their mind and opted for a completely different course.

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The report adds that the BCB will not allow Mustafizur to play in the 19th season of the IPL later this year even if KKR change their mind and get the left-arm pacer back on board.

BCB cites ‘growing concerns’ over safety and security in India

The BCB confirmed the development in a release later on Sunday citing “growing concerns regarding the safety and security” of the Bangladesh team in India while writing to the ICC asking the global body to relocate their fixtures in the T20 World Cup.

“Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government, the Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,” read the statement from the BCB.

“In light of this decision, the BCB has formally requested the International Cricket Council (ICC), as the event authority, to consider relocating all of Bangladesh’s matches to a venue outside India,” it added.

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Will Bangladesh shift base to Sri Lanka like Pakistan? 

Given the fact that Sri Lanka are co-hosting the T20 World Cup, which gets underway on 7 February, the Bangla Tigers are likely to join Pakistan in playing all of their matches in the island nation.

Bangladesh are placed in Group C alongside two-time champions England and West Indies as well as neighbours Nepal and debutants Italy. They were initially scheduled to play three of their four group matches at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens and face Nepal at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.

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Pakistan will also not be traveling to India for the World Cup due to the existing ‘Hybrid Model’ agreement between the BCCI and the PCB that has been in place since last year’s ICC Champions Trophy.

Under the agreement, the Indian and Pakistani teams will not be traveling to each others countries for multi-nation events and will instead play their matches on neutral territory.