BCB has been granted additional day to take a final call on its participation in the tournament.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday (January 21) rejected Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) plea to relocate its team’s T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures to Sri Lanka.
While BCB had cited 'security concerns' in India to move its matches to Sri Lanka, the apex body categorially stated that there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any tournament venues in the neighboring country.
“It was 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 statement read.
The decision was made following an ICC Board meeting via video conference. 14 out of 16 members reportedly voted against Bangladesh’s request to relocate.
According to reports, the ICC has granted BCB an additional day to reconsider and take a final call on its participation, or else be replaced in the tournament by another team.
Despite the ultimatum, BCB President Aminul Islam said he is hopeful that the Jay Shah-led body will reconsider its decision and shift Bangladesh's matches to Sri Lanka.
"I am hoping for a miracle from the ICC. Who doesn't want to play the World Cup? We can't really comment after the ICC's press release. The meeting went on for an hour and a half. We explained to the ICC board the reasons for our decision before the voting began. We didn't want to go into voting. We stepped back," Cricbuzz quoted Aminul as saying.
"The Bangladesh players want to play the World Cup. The Bangladesh government wants Bangladesh to play the World Cup. But we don't think India is safe for our players," he added.
The ICC management had 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.
“Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament. During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India,” an ICC spokesperson said.
“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. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the spokesperson added.
BCB took the stance of not travelling to India after IPL franchise KKR released left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad on BCCI’s instructions. The Indian board made this move earlier this month amidst reports of atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh.