Bangladesh has decided to pull out of the 2026 T20 World Cup after their demand to play their matches in Sri Lanka was denied by the ICC. The decision was taken after a meeting between the national team player and youth and sports advisor Asif Nazrul.
T20 World Cup: The Deadline
Bangladesh was given a 24-hour deadline by the ICC on Wednesday, January 21, to convey its final decision on this matter after cricket’s governing body announced that there would be no change in the schedule, as it was of the opinion that there was no clear threat to the team of playing their matches in India.
The asian team will be replaced by Scotland, who have been put on standby if it remains firm on its stance.
T20 World Cup: The Decision
Talking about the decision, Asif 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.
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T20 World Cup: The Demand
Having said that, the Bangladesh Cricket Board made it clear that they are ready to play at any venue other than India.
According to the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board president Amimul Islam Bulbul, “We will continue to communicate with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we won’t play in India. We will keep fighting. There were some shocking calls in the ICC Board Meeting. The Mustafizur issue is not an isolated single issue. They (India) were the sole decision makers in that issue.”
He further said, “ICC had denied us our request to shift our matches away from India. We are not sure about the status of world cricket. Its popularity is going down. They have locked away 200 million people. Cricket is going to the Olympics, but if a country like us is not going there, it is ICC’s failure.”
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T20 World Cup: The Schedule
Bangladesh are scheduled to play a total of four matches in India, including three in Kolkata against the West Indies, Italy and England respectively and one in Mumbai against Nepal.