ICC votes to remove Bangladesh from T20 World Cup over anti-India stance, insists schedule will remain unchanged

The International Cricket Council on Wednesday formally rejected Bangladesh's demand for their matches in the upcoming T20 World Cup to be moved entirely out of India, and also made it clear that there will be no change in the schedule that was unveiled back in November.

The decision was made following a board meeting on Wednesday that was attended by the ICC top brass, including CEO Sanjog Gupta but without chairman Jay Shah, as well as directors of all Full Member nations, including BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

The ICC board then voted 14-2 in favour of replacing Bangladesh with another team at the T20 World Cup if the Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to budge from their stance of not traveling to India. BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul and Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi were also present in Wednesday’s meeting and are understood to have been the only ones voting against the popular sentiment.

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The PCB had earlier written to the ICC in support of Bangladesh's refusal to travel to India due to “safety and security concerns” late on Tuesday, and had even offered to host Bangladesh’s matches in the upcoming tournament if Sri Lanka was not a feasible option.

Scotland to replace Bangladesh if BCB still refuse to change position

Scotland are the highest-ranked team not participating in the T20 World Cup, having finished behind Netherlands, Italy and Jersey in the European Qualifier, and will replace Bangladesh if the latter is ejected from the tournament. The BCB has been given one final day to reconsider their stance, before the ICC makes their removal from the tournament final

The ICC also reiterated that they will not be making any changes to the schedule that was unveiled in November, taking into account the fact that independent security assessments did not find any credible threats to the Bangladeshi contingent in India.

“The decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any of the tournament venues in India,” the ICC said in a statement after the board meeting.

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“The ICC Board noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events and undermine its neutrality as a global governing body.

“The ICC management also engaged in a series of correspondences and meetings with the BCB in a bid to resolve the impasse, sharing detailed information on the event security plan, including layered federal and state law-enforcement support,” it added.

India and Sri Lanka are co-hosting the tournament from 7 February to 8 March, with Pakistan playing all their matches in Sri Lanka under a ‘Hybrid Model’ agreement between the BCCI and the PCB that has been in place since the ICC Champions Trophy last year.