Bangladesh government’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul has stated his intention to persuade the International Cricket Council (ICC) to relocate the country’s match venues, expressing concern that the governing body has not fully grasped the gravity of the situation.
This development arises amid escalating tensions between India and Bangladesh. On Monday, the Bangladesh government mandated the suspension of broadcasts for all matches of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season due to a controversy involving Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman.
“We sat together with the BCB directors—Aminul Islam, Faruque bhai, and everyone else. Today we discussed the situation, and we all agreed that Bangladesh earned qualification for the T20 World Cup through hard work. We are a cricket-crazy nation, and we definitely want to play,” Nazrul was quoted by Cricbuzz as saying.
“However, we do not want to play the World Cup at the cost of national humiliation, the security of our cricketers, spectators, and journalists, or at the cost of the country’s dignity. After reading the letter we received from the ICC today, it felt to us that they have not fully understood the serious security situation that has developed in India for Bangladeshi cricketers,” he added.
This decision followed Rahman’s release from the IPL, which came after instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), sparking widespread debate and criticism in Bangladesh.
Following Rahman’s release, the BCB convened an emergency board meeting and has approached the ICC seeking the relocation of Bangladesh’s matches in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup from India due to safety and security concerns.
“To me, it does not feel like only a security issue—it feels like an issue of national humiliation as well. Still, we are primarily treating it as a security issue. When the Indian cricket board itself is telling the Kolkata team that they cannot provide security to this player (Mustafizur) and asking them to drop him from the team—that alone shows there is no environment in India where it is safe to play,” he further explained.
“We do not want to go into the wider communal situation in India. But when it comes to the security of our cricketers, the security of Bangladesh, and the honour and dignity of Bangladesh—there will be no compromise. We want to play cricket, we want to play the World Cup, and since there is another host country, Sri Lanka, we want to play there. We are firm on this position.”
Earlier, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) clarified that the ICC has assured continuous and unhindered involvement for Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, firmly rejecting media claims of an ultimatum.
In a statement released after formal correspondence with the ICC, the BCB indicated that the governing body addressed its concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team in India, including the request to relocate the team’s matches. According to the BCB, the ICC reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding Bangladesh’s participation and expressed readiness to closely collaborate on security-related matters.
“Why we are firm on this position? We hope we will be able to explain that to the ICC. And we hope the ICC will consider our arguments impartially and allow us to play in the T20 World Cup that we have earned through hard work,” Nazrul concluded.
“Our first stand is to convince the ICC. We have strong arguments and we will convince them with those arguments. The core principle of our stand is that on the question of Bangladesh’s security, Bangladesh’s honour, and Bangladesh’s dignity, there will be no compromise. But we definitely want to play the Cricket World Cup,” Nazrul stated.