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2026 T20 World Cup Without Bangladesh? Standoff With ICC Deepens
Bangladesh has made it clear that there is no room for change in its decision. However, the board still hopes for justice from the ICC.
Will the 2026 T20 World Cup be conducted without the participation of Bangladesh? This is a new issue that is currently a subject of discussion in the field of cricket. While Bangladesh is keen on sending a clear message that it is not willing to send its team to India, the decision of the ICC is very clear on the issue. As such, the 2026 T20 World Cup is likely to be conducted without the participation of the team. Asif Nazrul, sports advisor to the Bangladesh government, stated on Thursday that there is no possibility of Bangladesh playing in the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup.
Citing security reasons, Bangladesh had requested the ICC to shift its World Cup matches to a venue other than India, but the ICC rejected this demand. "There is no scope for changing our decision. We did not get justice from the ICC. However, we still hope the ICC will do justice to us. The security situation in India remains the same," Asif told reporters after a meeting with Bangladesh players and Bangladesh Cricket Board officials on Thursday.
He added, "We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka. They gave us a 24-hour ultimatum, but no global body can do that. The ICC will miss 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss."
Amid rising violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, the Board of Control for Cricket in India ordered the Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 team. Asif Nazrul said, "India could not provide security to one of our cricketers. In that country, the cricket board is a part of the government, which either failed or hesitated to provide security to one of our cricketers when pressured." It is noteworthy that on Wednesday, the ICC clearly stated that Bangladesh's matches in the upcoming World Cup will be played in India as planned.
