Dr Asif Nazaral, Youth and Sports Advisor, Bangladesh, has announced that the Bangladesh team will not travel to India for the ICC T20 World Cup. ICC did not accept our stance, he said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has further announced that if Bangladesh is removed from the ICC World Cup, Pakistan will also boycott the World Cup in solidarity with Bangladesh.
Speaking to reporters in Dhaka on Monday, Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul said Bangladesh could not be forced into the decision under external pressure. He said the country would stand firm if the ICC acted under the influence of the Indian Cricket Board.
“If the ICC bows to pressure and tries to impose any illogical condition on us, we will not accept it,” he said.
Request for venue change
Bangladesh has already informed the ICC that it does not plan to travel to India for the tournament, citing political tensions and security concerns. The officials also asked for their matches to be moved to another venue.
Mr Nazrul said there were precedents in international cricket for such changes. He pointed to past instances where India declined to tour Pakistan, after which the ICC shifted venues.
“We have made a reasonable request,” he said, adding that Bangladesh expected the governing body to consider it fairly.
Reports of a possible replacement
While addressing the media on Monday, the adviser was also asked about a report by the French news agency AFP, which suggested Scotland could replace Bangladesh if the team withdrew from the tournament. He said the government and cricket authorities had not received any official communication on the matter.
“There has been no formal decision shared with us,” he said.
The ICC has not publicly explained how it would select a replacement team if a participating nation pulled out.
Background of the tension
Tensions have increased in recent weeks following the removal of Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League. The decision was reportedly linked to security threats, concerns that were also mentioned in an internal ICC threat assessment.
A final decision on Bangladesh’s participation and travel plans was taken yesterday by the ICC. The ICC uphold the decision not to change the venues for the tournament.
Also Read: Pakistan backs Bangladesh’s stance ahead of T20 World Cup
