ICC has rejected Bangladesh's request to play T20 World Cup 2026 matches out of India.
Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary has slammed Bangladesh's decision to boycott T20 World Cup 2026 in India, alleging political interference in the country's cricket board.
While the BCB had cited 'security concerns' in India to move its matches to Sri Lanka, the ICC categorially said in statement that there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any tournament venues in the neighboring country.
The apex body also made it clear that if Bangladesh decide not to travel to India, they would be replaced by the next-best-ranked team in Group C, which is likely to be Scotland.
Speaking to ANI, Tiwary questioned the security concerns, emphasizing that Bangladesh's former PM Sheikh Hasina is safely residing in India and wondered why players wouldn't be safe.
"It wasn't from the board's side. Today, if you watched the press conference, the Sports Minister gave a statement to the media, saying there is a security risk, but the board president was standing right next to him. Generally, in other countries, the cricket board is an autonomous body, and political and ministerial involvement is limited only to organising the events," Tiwary said.
"But in their country, politics has entered the picture, and political figures have become heavily involved in the board, and these kinds of decisions are emerging. Regarding the safety, if that's the question, then Sheikh Hasina also came to our country after the protests there, and she is safe here, isn't she? The central government of our country has provided her with good security and given her refuge here. So, if a country's Prime Minister can come and live safely here, then the players will definitely get safety," he added.
BCB took the stand 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 atrocities on minorities in Bangladesh.
As Bangladesh stand on the verge of being excluded from the T20 World Cup, Tiwary said it is a loss for their players. He reckons the decision wasn't taken by the cricket board, highlighting political interference in sports.
"This is a loss for the players. All the Bangladeshi players always want to play for their country, and it's their dream to participate in the World Cup and perform well there, which further brightens their individual careers. But what can the players do now? It wasn't in the players' hands, and the ICC's instruction was simply, "Either you play, or you leave." Why did the Bangladesh Cricket Board take such a decision, given that the ICC chairman and the ICC itself are so powerful? We know the board didn't take the decision. The Sports Ministry there took it, and I've always said that if politics enters sports, you see these kinds of things happening, and this time it's been proven again that politics has entered sports. Because of this, such a major decision was taken that they are not coming to play in the World Cup," he remarked.
As per the current schedule, Bangladesh are scheduled to play all four of their T20 World Cup group-stage matches in India (three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai).