Delhi: It’s now confirmed that the Bangladesh team will not be coming to India to participate in the upcoming T20 World Cup. This isn’t the first time a team has refused to participate in a scheduled series or tournament. Even ICC tournaments, where participation is only possible after qualifying, have been precedented by refusals. However, Bangladesh’s refusal and the resulting controversy are the worst example.
5 stories of refusal to play in ICC tournaments
India refuses to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy:
This is the latest development, but it was already known that the Indian team, which hasn’t played in Pakistan since 2008, wouldn’t travel to Pakistan for this tournament. India cited lack of government approval as the reason. A solution was found: both teams would play their matches on neutral grounds for three years in ICC tournaments, under a hybrid model, instead of playing in each other’s countries. The Indian team went to Dubai to play its matches. That’s why, in the 2026 T20 World Cup program, Pakistan is scheduled to play all its matches in Sri Lanka.
Australia and West Indies refused to play in Colombo in the 1996 ODI World Cup:
Sri Lanka was then joint host with India and Pakistan, but the schedule dictated that Australia and the West Indies each play a match in Colombo. Sri Lanka was then experiencing a civil war-like situation, and when bombings occurred two weeks before the tournament, both teams refused to play, citing security concerns. The schedule remained unchanged, and both teams forfeited match points, which benefited Sri Lanka. Interestingly, the Sri Lanka-Australia final took place in Lahore.
Australia’s boycott of the 2016 Under-19 World Cup:
This was already evident months ago. In 2015, the Australian team skipped a scheduled series in Bangladesh due to security concerns in the host country. Coincidentally, the Under-19 World Cup was held in Bangladesh just a few months later. Australia stated that the situation remained the same, so their decision remained the same. They did not request a separate transfer of matches (as Bangladesh did this time) and did not participate. Ireland played in the tournament in their place.
There were two boycotts in the 2003 World Cup as well:
Almost the same thing happened as Australia and West Indies did in 1996. This time too, two World Cup matches were not played in protest. England refused to play against Zimbabwe in Harare in protest against the way Robert Mugabe was ruling in Zimbabwe, the joint host, and New Zealand refused to play against Kenya in Nairobi (Kenya), fearing the bomb blasts a few days earlier. However, this time both these teams had asked to change the venue of their match, but the ICC refused. Zimbabwe and Kenya got a walkover in their respective matches. England suffered a huge loss due to losing points, while Kenya took advantage and played in the semi-finals.
The 2009 T20 World Cup saw a draw, but in a different way:
Zimbabwe had a chance to settle the score of 2003, as the tournament was being held in England. Meanwhile, news from England was that they would not grant visas to Zimbabwean players to travel to England for the tournament. This matter put the ICC in a difficult situation. The issue nearly led to the tournament being moved from England. Ultimately, a compromise was reached, and to save world cricket from the crisis, Zimbabwe voluntarily withdrew from the tournament. However, they received their full playing fees without playing. Scotland played in their place.
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