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The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam Bulbul confirmed on Thursday that the BCB stands firm on its decision not to play its ICC Men's World Cup matches in India, after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected their request to shift Bangladesh's World Cup fixtures outside India.
ICC on Wednesday rejected the BCB's request to move their matches out of India for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup via video conference, which was convened to discuss the way forward. The T20 World Cup will kick off on February 7, with India and Sri Lanka to co-host the tournament. "We will continue to communicate with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we won't play in India. We will keep fighting. There were some shocking calls in the ICC Board Meeting. The Mustafizur issue is not an isolated single issue. They (India) were the sole decision makers in that issue," BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul told the reporters. "ICC had denied us our request to shift our matches away from India. We are not sure about the status of world cricket. Its popularity is going down. They have locked away 200 million people. Cricket is going to the Olympics, but if a country like us is not going there, it is ICC's failure," he added. There has been some strain in India's ties with Bangladesh over rising incidents of crimes against minorities in the country. Last year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had asked Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their Indian Premier League 2026 squad amid demands following atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh. Following Rahman's removal from the IPL, BCB cited growing concerns about the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent as the reason for not travelling to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup. Bangladesh's Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul on Thursday said that the ICC failed to convince them on security concerns in India. "ICC has failed to convince us on the security question. ICC has not taken any stand on our grievances. Even the Indian government did not communicate with us, or try to assuage our fears," Asif Nazrul said 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. Nazrul further stated that BCB and the Bangladesh government have not lost hope and believe ICC will understand their security risk concerns and allow them to play in Sri Lanka. "We haven't lost hope yet. We hope ICC will understand our genuine security risk concerns and allow us to play in Sri Lanka," he added. (ANI)
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