Won't play in India: Bangladesh boycott T20 World Cup, ICC to name replacement

The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Thursday confirmed it would stick to its stance of not playing its T20 World Cup matches in India, fully aware that the decision could result in the country’s expulsion from the tournament. Bangladesh floated the threat of a boycott following a crucial meeting involving BCB officials, national team cricketers, and the interim government’s sports adviser, Asif Nazrul.

Bangladesh’s position comes a day after the International Cricket Council stated that the T20 World Cup would go ahead as scheduled and that the BCB’s request to shift its matches from India to Sri Lanka had been rejected. The ICC dismissed Bangladesh's concerns, saying there was no credible security threat for its players in India.

Sources said that Bangladesh had been given a day to consult its government and reconsider its decision on playing in India.

Despite the ultimatum, the BCB confirmed that its long-standing concerns over player security had not been addressed satisfactorily.

Speaking after the discussions, Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul delivered a strong message, accusing the ICC of failing to treat Bangladesh fairly. “The ICC



has not served us justice,” Nazrul said, underlining that the issue goes beyond cricketing commitments. “We will not bow down. Everyone should understand what it means if Bangladesh do not play the World Cup. We cannot give up our players’ security under any circumstances.”

Bangladesh, who have been drawn in Group C with England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies, are scheduled to play three matches in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. Bangladesh requested to move their matches to Sri Lanka, who are the co-hosts of the 16-team tournament, starting February 7.

The ICC is now likely to replace Bangladesh with Scotland. The ICC, on Thursday, said it had engaged in sustained and constructive dialogue with the Bangladesh Cricket Board over the past several weeks with the clear objective of facilitating Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament. It added that it had shared detailed inputs during this period, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there was no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India.