With only three weeks remaining for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Bangladesh’s participation in the global showpiece continues to remain uncertain.

The Bangla Tigers are scheduled to play their T20 World Cup group-stage fixtures in Kolkata and Mumbai. However, the BCB has refused to travel to India, citing securing concerns.

The impasse over Bangladesh traveling to India began when the BCCI instructed KKR to release Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 contract, and the franchise obliged. The Indian board’s move came amid reports of atrocities on minorities in the neighboring country.

In response, the BCB wrote to the ICC and urged the apex body to relocate their T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka, the co-host for the marquee event.

Amid the uncertainty, BCB’s Finance Committee Chairman Nazmul Islam has made a blunt remark, saying that it’s not the board but the players who will suffer the most if the deadlock continues.

“There will be no loss for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (if we don’t take part in the World Cup), as the loss will be for the players," Nazmul was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“Up to 2027, our revenue will not be hampered because in the 2022 ICC financial meeting, this was already fixed. Future World Cups or future bilateral or international events may have relevance, for example, whether teams will come to us under the FTP. Those are valid questions. But this World Cup does not affect that," he added.

Under ICC regulations, the prize money -- be it match fees, performance bonuses or Player-of-the-Match rewards -- goes directly to players. Even teams that do not qualify for the knockout rounds receive minimum payouts.

If Bangladesh don’t feature in the tournament, Nazmul acknowledged, it is the players who lose those earnings.

“The players will lose because when they play, they receive a match fee for every match. If someone participates in a match, or becomes man of the match, or has some kind of special performance, then according to ICC rules and match regulations, they get what is due to them. That money belongs exactly to the player. The board has no connection with that. Meaning the board does not gain or lose anything from this. Whether Bangladesh plays here or not, the board has no profit or loss from this, at least not for this World Cup," Nazmul stated.

When asked if the BCB would compensate players in case of non-participation, Nazmul replied: “Why should we compensate? If they go somewhere and cannot do anything, then the crores of taka we spend behind them, do we ask for that money back from them? Do we?"

“There is no explanation (why we won’t give any compensation) because that question should not arise because we spend so much behind them already. If we start saying you played badly, now give the money back, does that make sense?" he further remarked.

Earlier, the same official stirred a controversy by calling Tamim Iqbal an "Indian agent" after the former Bangladesh captain warned the BCB against decisions driven by public sentiment over T20 World Cup venue row.