Bangladesh wanted to swap their group with Ireland, but the Irish refused.
Asif Nazrul, the sports advisor for the Bangladeshi government, once again stated on Tuesday that they are not prepared to alter their position over participating in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India.
Bangladesh is to play four T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India, three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. Bangladesh is scheduled to play matches against the West Indies, Italy, and England in Kolkata on February 7, 9, and 14, respectively, before a final group fixture against Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.
Asif also dismissed rumors that Scotland would take their place in the main event if Bangladesh decides not to participate. Bangladesh has asked the ICC to move its matches to co-host Sri Lanka and is refusing to play in India due to security concerns.
The BCB requested that the ICC change its venue after the BCCI ordered the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad due to ongoing political tensions between the two nations.
The BCB and ICC officials met over the weekend in Dhaka to discuss the impasse, but no agreement was reached.
Since they are running out of time, it is understood that the ICC has set January 21 as the deadline for resolving the issue. They would need to allow Scotland, the top-ranked team that missed out on the World Cup, at least 15 days to get ready if they had to replace Bangladesh.
"I am not aware that Scotland will be included in our place (in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup). If the ICC bows to pressure from the Indian Cricket Board and tries to impose pressure on us by setting unreasonable conditions, we will not accept those conditions," Asif was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
“In the past, there were examples where Pakistan said that they would not travel to India, and ICC changed the venue. We have asked to change the venue on logical ground and we cannot be pressurized to play in India by putting illogical pressure,” he added.
Bangladesh proposed swapping groups, but Ireland refused.