Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam stated on Monday (January 5) that the board does not feel 'secure' about sending the Bangladesh team to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to order the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to remove top Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman from its squad for the IPL 2026 season, ties between the BCB and the BCCI have soured.

The rising violent anti-Bangladesh sentiment in India, which is linked to the attacks on the Hindu minority in the neighboring country, was tacitly mentioned by the BCCI.

“You know that we, along with all the directors of the cricket board, held two meetings before taking this decision, and at this moment we do not feel secure sending our team to India to play the World Cup," Aminul told reporters on Monday, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Islam also stated that the board is seeking a response from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and will not communicate with the BCCI in this matter.

“So, we wrote a letter to the ICC, and in the letter, we clearly stated what we wanted to say. Because to us, security appeared to be a major concern, and that is what we are following. We have sent an email to the ICC, and we are expecting them to tell us to have a meeting with them soon, where we will express our concern.

But what our next step will be depends on the reply to the email we have sent. We do not know what feedback will come (from ICC). We are not communicating with BCCI because this is an ICC event. We are communicating with the ICC," he said.

BCB has requested to move Bangladesh’s matches out of India to Sri Lanka, and now ICC has to decide whether it wants to redo the entire schedule of the T20 World Cup 2026, as the Tigers play four group-stage matches in India. 

Following this event, there is rising speculation that India will be hesitant to travel to Bangladesh for their scheduled white-ball series in September, citing strained relations between the two countries; however, Aminul disagrees.

"Look, cricket between the two countries (the relationship between India and Bangladesh), like playing a bilateral series or playing in the World Cup, is one thing, and security concerns are another matter. So, for now, we are thinking about the World Cup issue (security)," he said.

BCB has requested to move Bangladesh’s matches out of India to Sri Lanka, and now ICC has to decide whether it wants to redo the entire schedule of the T20 World Cup 2026, as the Tigers play four group-stage matches in India.

Aminul Islam has stated that BCB also supports the Bangladesh government’s decision to instruct all local TV channels to stop broadcasting IPL in the country indefinitely.

“This is India’s domestic cricket, and in domestic cricket, who to show or not to show is the decision of our government. From our side, since the government, through the Ministry of Information, has taken this decision, we have nothing to say. However, it is true that we support the decision taken by the government," he said.

(Cricbuzz inputs)