Afridi and Gillespie sympathized with Bangladesh after they were replaced by Scotland in T20 WC.
The two senior internationals questioned the global body's "inconsistency," citing a previous example — India at the 2025 Champions Trophy — when venue modifications were accommodated.
Bangladesh had informed the ICC that they would not be flying to India due to security concerns amid deteriorating relations between the two nations and asked that their matches be transferred to Sri Lanka.
This came after the BCCI ordered the removal of Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the KKR IPL 2026 squad due to outcry over extremists' crimes against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.
However, the ICC reiterated that the T20 World Cup will go according to schedule, with Bangladesh's matches taking place in India. Additionally, the ICC gave BCB a 24-hour opportunity to convey its final decision about the tournament's scheduled play.
With Bangladesh not budging from their stance, they were replaced with Scotland in Group C, and the ICC removed Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup 2026.
Afridi slammed the ICC, criticizing the unfair treatment of member boards and pointing out how India used "security threats" as a justification for not traveling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
The apex body eventually proposed a neutral location in Dubai for India's matches. With India reaching the final, Pakistan lost the opportunity to host the Champions Trophy final.
“As a former international cricketer who has played in Bangladesh and in ICC events, I’m deeply disappointed by the ICC’s inconsistency. It accepted India’s security concerns for not touring Pakistan in 2025, yet appears unwilling to apply the same understanding to Bangladesh,” Afridi wrote on X.
Afridi stressed the need for the ICC to apply its rules uniformly, regardless of the teams involved.
“Consistency and fairness are the foundation of global cricket governance. Bangladesh’s players and millions of its fans deserve respect — not mixed standards. The ICC should build bridges, not burn them,” he added.
On the other hand, Jason Gillespie, who was the head coach of the Pakistan team until recently, questioned the ICC's double standards in relation to the Bangladesh problem, referencing the India Champions Trophy instance. The Australian later deleted his X post.
“Has there been an explanation from the ICC why Bangladesh could not play their games outside of India? From memory, India refused to play Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan and were allowed to play those games outside the country. Can someone make this make sense?” Gillespie posted.