Bangladesh on Thursday (January 22) reaffirmed that they will not travel to India to play their T20 World Cup 2026 matches and hoped for “justice” from the International Cricket Council (ICC) on their request to shift the games to Sri Lanka.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said that the team won’t play the T20 World Cup in India but “still hopeful of justice from ICC”.
ICC’s ultimatum
Bangladesh had been served an ultimatum by the world body on Wednesday to either agree to travel to India or risk being replaced, as there was no credible threat to the safety of their players, officials, or fans there. The country was given time till Thursday to make its decision.
Also read: T20 World Cup | Bangladesh matches will be played in India, no threat to players: ICC
However, taking a defiant position Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul, after a meeting with national team players, announced that the ICC’s position was not acceptable to them.
“It is our government that has decided not to go to India,” Nazrul said. “While our cricketers have worked hard to qualify for the World Cup, the security risk regarding playing in India remains unchanged. This concern is not based on abstract analysis.”
“We are not giving up hope yet; our team is ready. We expect the ICC to provide justice by considering our genuine security risks and allowing us to play in Sri Lanka,” he added.
Bangladesh’s matches in Kolkata, Mumbai
BCB president Aminul Islam said, “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 were shocking.”
Bangladesh are scheduled to play in Kolkata and Mumbai. India and Sri Lanka will host the T20 World Cup 2026 from February 7 to March 8.
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