Playing T20 World Cup in India right now is not safe for us, says BCB President

The decision was taken following an ICC Board meeting (via video conference) on Wednesday, convened to discuss the way forward after the BCB sought to have its matches moved to Sri Lanka.

"Playing in India right now is not safe for us; we want to play in Sri Lanka", Aminul Islam Bulbul told the reporters on Wednesday night.

The decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, which indicated that there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials, and fans at any of the tournament venues in India.

The ICC Board noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events and undermine its neutrality as a global governing body.

The ICC management also engaged in a series of correspondence and meetings with the BCB in a bid to resolve the impasse, sharing detailed information on the event security plan, including layered federal and state law-enforcement support.

An ICC spokesperson said, "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. During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India."

"Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its players' involvement in a domestic league. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament's security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup."

"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. 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 carry significant logistical and scheduling consequences for other teams and fans worldwide, and would also create far-reaching precedent-related challenges that risk undermining the neutrality, fairness, and integrity of ICC governance. The ICC remains committed to acting in good faith, upholding consistent standards, and safeguarding the collective interests of the global game," the statement added. (ANI)

The T20 World Cup will kick off on February 7. Bangladesh are scheduled to kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 against two-time champions West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Litton Das-led side will then face Italy on February 9 at the same venue before facing England in Kolkata again. After facing England, Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Mumbai to play Nepal at Wankhede Stadium.

However, BCB will inform Bangladesh's decision to ICC after consultations with the government on Thursday, BCB officials said. (ANI)