Madan Lal, former Indian cricketer and 1983 World Cup winner, has accused Pakistan of trying to bring India down by instigating the Bangladesh board to boycott the T20 World Cup 2026 to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7.

Aminul Islam, the head of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), said on Thursday that the team would only compete if their Group C matches were shifted to Sri Lanka and would not be traveling to India.

Bangladesh is presently in danger of being eliminated from the competition and replaced by Scotland. They are in Group C with England, Nepal, Italy, and the West Indies.

The ICC has previously said that there will be no changes to the initial schedule. Although the ICC is unlikely to alter its position, the BCB stated on Thursday that it would speak with the international organization once more.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had entered into the ongoing BCB v ICC standoff by reportedly showing solidarity to the Bangladeshi board. PCB was the only board to vote in favor of BCB during the ICC board meeting.

As the drama continues to go on, Lal came down hard on Pakistan, saying they just instigated Bangladesh just to prove a point to India.

“I think it's foolish. I can say that because India is not going to lose anything. Bangladesh is likely to lose everything by not participating in such a big tournament from a commercial point of view, resulting in a significant loss.

I think it's Pakistan instigating them not to participate in this tournament. They just want to bring India down,” Madan Lal told India Today.

Bangladesh is slated to play three of its Group C games in Kolkata and one in Mumbai as per the original ICC T20 World Cup 2026 schedule.

Bangladesh's allegation that its squad is in danger is unfounded, according to Lal, as Mumbai is considered one of the safest locations in India.

"They are playing in Mumbai, and it is one of the safest places in India. It doesn't make any difference to the Indian board or anything, but I think it's all politics, with Pakistan and Bangladesh playing their part very strongly because they want to let India down, and that's the thing," said Lal.

Both BCB President Aminul Islam and the government's sports advisor, Asif Nazrul, had highlighted danger to Bangladeshi players in India and stated that neither the BCCI nor the ICC has made any effort to address their concerns.