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Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India is now in serious doubt, with the International Cricket Council’s security report raising strong security concerns. Advisor on Youth and Sports Prof Asif Nazrul confirmed that the overall situation does not seem safe enough for Bangladesh to travel to India for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
ICC Security Report Raises Important Warning Signals for Bangladesh
As reported by Daily Sun Report, Nazrul revealed that the ICC’s security assessment is not good in terms of security in India. Based on this assessment, the government has assessed that the environment is not suitable for Bangladesh to play its ICC T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India.
The advisor also confirmed that the Bangladesh government has already sent two separate letters to the ICC on the matter and is still awaiting an official response. In this context, the ICC security team has sent a letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) explaining the conditions under which security risks could further increase during the much-awaited tournament.
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Three major red flags for Bangladesh participating in ICC T20 World Cup 2026 in India
According to Asif Nazrul, the letter mentioned three major red flags. The first was the possible selection of Mustafizur Rahman in the Bangladesh team, which could raise security concerns. The second problem was related to Bangladeshi fans traveling in public wearing their team’s jerseys, which could attract unwanted attention and create risks.
The third concern was the tournament schedule, as the matches would be played close to the national elections in Bangladesh, which could further aggravate the security situation. Taking all these points together, Nazrul made it clear that it would be unrealistic to expect the Bangladesh team to play the T20 World Cup in India in such conditions.
The Bangladesh sports advisor’s bombshell
Asif Nazrul told a press conference: “If the ICC expects us to build a team by excluding our best bowler, asking our fans not to wear the Bangladesh national jersey and postponing the Bangladesh national elections in order to play cricket, then there can be no more absurd, unrealistic or unreasonable expectation than that.”
If the ICC expects us to build a team by excluding our best bowler, asking our fans not to wear the Bangladesh national jersey and postponing the Bangladesh national elections in order to play cricket, then there can be no more absurd, unrealistic or unreasonable expectation than that.
No compromise, no bias: Bangladesh issues strong warning to ICC
He said the atmosphere in India had become very dangerous for Bangladesh in the last 16 months due to rising communal tensions and strong anti-Bangladesh sentiments. He stressed that the issue around Rahman and the security warning sent by the ICC have removed any doubt. Given this, Nazrul said Bangladesh cannot be safely in an “extreme communal environment”.
Read also: Mohammad Nabi goes nuclear, distances himself from Mustafizur Rahman amid India-Bangladesh tensions
Since former BCCI secretary Jay Shah is the current ICC president, the sports advisor said Bangladesh will not tolerate any biased calls. He said: “A sport or tournament cannot be decided solely on the basis of market management. We will not make any concessions on this issue.”
Bangladesh rejects the solution reserved for India proposed by the ICC; lobbies for Pakistan or UAE
Nazrul also revealed that ICC had informed Bangladesh that the tournament would not be moved to Sri Lanka. Instead, the ICC suggested changing the venue to India, but the Bangladesh government rejected the idea, saying: “If the venue is shifted from Calcutta to another place, that does not solve the problem. India remains India.”
The Bangladesh sports advisor further said that Pakistan or UAE would be acceptable options to play their T20 World Cup matches and said that the government would release ICC’s security letter to the media at the right time.
He concluded by saying: “But where a player from our team cannot be allowed to play, and the national cricket board of India bows down to extremist communal forces and says that this player should not be allowed to play, what greater proof does the ICC need?
