ICC rejects BCB request, keeps B'desh T20 World Cup matches in India
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New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday confirmed that Bangladesh’s matches in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup will be played in India as originally scheduled, rejecting a request from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to shift the fixtures to Sri Lanka.
The decision was taken following an ICC Board meeting held via video conferencing with all member boards in attendance. The BCB had sought a venue change citing strained bilateral relations after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) instructed Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad.
In a statement, the ICC said its decision was based on detailed security assessments, including independent reviews, which found no threat to the safety of Bangladesh players, officials, media or fans at any of the tournament venues in India.
“Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament,” an ICC spokesperson said.
The ICC said it had shared independent security assessments, venue-level security plans and formal assurances from host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh team in India.
Despite this, the ICC noted that the BCB continued to link its participation to what it described as a single, isolated and unrelated issue concerning one player’s involvement in a domestic league, which the ICC said had no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or participation conditions.
Under the current schedule, Bangladesh are set to play West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9 and England on February 14 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, before facing Nepal on February 17 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The ICC also said that altering fixtures at this late stage was not feasible and warned that changing venues without a credible security risk could set a precedent that may undermine the neutrality of future ICC events.
The governing body added that it had held extensive discussions with the BCB, including an in-person meeting in Dhaka on January 17 led by Andrew Ephgrave, ICC General Manager, Integrity Unit, with Gaurav Saxena, General Manager, Events and Corporate Communications, joining virtually.
“The ICC’s venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees and the tournament’s agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations,” the spokesperson said.
“In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures. Doing so would have significant logistical and scheduling consequences for other teams and fans and could undermine the neutrality, fairness and integrity of ICC governance.”
The ICC added that if Bangladesh were to withdraw from the tournament, and Scotland, currently ranked 14th in T20 Internationals and the highest-ranked team not already qualified, would be expected to take their place.
With IANS inputs