The International Cricket Council (ICC) has denied accreditation to all the Bangladeshi journalists who wanted to cover the ICC T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, starting February 7, Bangladeshi media reported.
Between 130 and 150 journalists applied this year but there is no confirmation on any of the applications, confirmed Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Media Committee chairman Amzad Hossain.
Reports say there are cases of Bangladesh-based photojournalists who received initial approval emails on January 20 and 21, including visa support letters, but later their accreditations were revoked.
Photojournalist Mir Farid said, “I got an email from ICC media department saying they have approved my documentation but then, I received an email saying that my application has been rejected.”
Senior journalists and officials said they were surprised at the blanket rejection. Arifur Rahman Babu, president of the Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association (BSJA), stated that “even if a team is not playing journalists from an ICC Associate Member nation can still be accredited” adding that he could not see a reason in rejecting all applicants.
He condemned the decision and stated that he would consult with the Bangladesh Sports Press Association (BSPA) and Bangladesh Sports Journalists Community (BSJC) to determine next steps.
Babu further added, “Since Sri Lanka is a co-host, they could have accommodated us there.”
The accreditation issue follows Bangladesh’s replacement by Scotland in Group C earlier this week. The BCB had asked the ICC to shift matches of Bangladesh from India to Sri Lanka due to security fears after IPL (franchise) Kolkata Knight Riders released fast bowler, Mustafizur Rahman.
Negotiations between the BCB and ICC were unsuccessful, the ICC ruled in favour of the original schedule, substituting Scotland for Bangladesh.
Officials suggested that the ICC’s refusal to grant accreditation could be an expression of displeasure at Bangladesh not participating.
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