Bangladesh have decided not to participate in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in India.
Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul confirmed the information after a meeting held with the players named in the World Cup squad on Thursday. After the meeting, he spoke to the media and criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC), alleging unfair treatment towards Bangladesh. He said the decision not to travel to India for the T20 World Cup is final and was taken by the government. “There is no opportunity to change our position on not going to India to play the World Cup,” the adviser said, adding that the ICC failed to ensure justice by not considering Bangladesh’s request for a venue change.
Asif Nazrul further stated that the security concerns which led to the decision remain unchanged. “Naturally, we all wanted to play in the T20 World Cup. But the security risks associated with playing in India still exist,” he said. “These concerns are not based on assumptions or theoretical analysis. They arose from real incidents.”
Following Asif Nazrul, BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul also spoke to the media, reiterating that Bangladesh still wants to play its World Cup matches in Sri Lanka and will continue to pursue that option with the ICC.
Addressing the ICC’s description of the removal of Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL) amid protests by hardline groups as an ‘isolated incident’, the BCB president disagreed.
He said Mustafizur was dropped from an IPL team due to security reasons, not because of injury, personal withdrawal, or cancellation of his No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the BCB.
“Mustafizur did not pull out on his own, he was not injured, and the BCB did not cancel his NOC,” Aminul Islam said. “He was excluded due to security concerns. After that incident, we contacted the ICC and requested to play at an alternative venue.”
The decision is expected to have significant implications for Bangladesh cricket and the overall structure of the tournament, as the ICC weighs its next steps.
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