ICC won’t relocate Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup games from India

Bangladesh has one day to decide whether its men’s cricket team will travel to India for the T20 World Cup or face expulsion from the tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly told the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) after a board meeting.

The ICC’s board met via video conference to resolve the dispute around Bangladesh’s participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and decided to proceed with the tournament as per its published schedule, the global cricket body said on Wednesday.

The BCB has refused to play its four group-stage fixtures in India, citing safety and security concerns for its players, and asked the ICC to relocate the fixtures to co-hosts Sri Lanka for the upcoming tournament.

“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.

“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.”

In addition to confirming its stance on the relocation of matches, the ICC has also reportedly given the BCB a one-day deadline to confirm its participation or forfeit its place in the tournament.

“If Bangladesh continue to refuse to play in India due to security concerns, the ICC board has decided to replace them with Scotland – based on team rankings – in the tournament,” a report on ESPNcricinfo said.

The dispute between Bangladesh and India erupted on January 3, following top Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman’s abrupt removal from the Indian Premier League (IPL) upon instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) due to the ongoing political tensions between the two nations.

The ICC said it had shared detailed independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities with the BCB and that all reports concluded “there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India”.

“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its players’ involvement in a domestic league,” an ICC spokesperson said.

“This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.”

Bangladesh’s interim government and the BCB have repeatedly told the ICC that their team will not travel to India, with a top sport official saying his country will not back down to “unreasonable coercion” and play their matches in India despite security concerns.

“We have logically requested a change of venue for valid reasons,” Asif Nazrul, youth and sports adviser in the Bangladesh interim government, told the state-run BSS news agency late on Tuesday.

“We cannot be forced to play in India through illogical pressure or unreasonable coercion.”

The T20 World Cup begins in a little more than two weeks, on February 7, with Bangladesh’s four group matches to be played in Kolkata and Mumbai.

‘Whole of Bangladesh is uncertain’

Bangladesh captain Litton Das said he had no idea if the team would take part.

“From where I stand, I’m uncertain, everyone is uncertain,” Das told reporters after a domestic cricket match on Tuesday, asking: “Are you sure we will play the World Cup?

“I think at this moment, the whole of Bangladesh is uncertain,” he added in comments reported by Dhaka’s Prothom Alo newspaper.

Diplomatic relations between the once-close allies have been sharply tested since August last year, when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to New Delhi from Dhaka after an uprising against her rule.

Bangladesh blames India for a number of its troubles, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support for Hasina when she was in power.

During the World Cup, Bangladesh will hold its first elections since Hasina’s ousting.