Bangladesh slams ICC in T20 World Cup controversy:BCB cites India’s UAE ‘privilege’ in Champions Trophy after refusing Pakistan visit

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam Bulbul accused the International Cricket Council (ICC) of double standards after the apex body rejected their request for relocating their T20 World Cup 2026 matches outside India, on 22 January. Bangladesh now face a risk of being replaced in the T20 World Cup. The T20 World Cup venue row continued to escalate as Bangladesh announced that they have remained firm in their stance of not playing in India, after the country’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul met with BCB president Aminul Islam and CEO Nizamuddin, and several national team players, including Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Jaker Ali, Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hassan. BCB President hits out at ICC for double standards, recall India’s boycott of Pakistan in Champions Trophy Aminul recalled how the ICC fixed the UAE as a neutral venue for India last year when the country refused to travel to Pakistan for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, citing security concerns. India played all their matches in Dubai despite Pakistan being the host nation of the tournament. Speaking to reporters in Dhaka after Asif Nazrul met the Bangladesh cricketers, he said, “When a country refused to travel to another country for the Champions Trophy last February, the ICC organised a neutral venue for them. The team played all their Champions Trophy matches in that neutral venue. They played in one ground, staying in one hotel. It was a privilege,” Aminul said. He further stated that the BCB asked ICC to adopt a hybrid model for the T20 World Cup as well, shifting all their matches in Sri Lanka but that request was denied. ” “We are calling Sri Lanka co-hosts, but they are not co-hosts. Sri Lanka is part of the hybrid model where one country is going to play,” he said, adding,”We indicated to the ICC that since our government is reluctant (to let us play in India), we want to take that option. Still, they denied our request. We will communicate with the ICC today. We are ready to play the World Cup in Sri Lanka. We don’t want to play in India,” he added. ‘ICC failed to convince us of our security in India’ says Asif Nazrul Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul stated that the ICC has failed to convince the country of its security in India. He also said that there were no efforts made on the part of the Indian government to assure Bangladesh of their security. “Let me tell you clearly. It is the government’s decision not to play in India due to security concerns,” Asif Nazrul said, adding, “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; they haven’t said that it was an isolated incident, they haven’t apologised, and they haven’t proposed any new security measures. The ICC hasn’t shown us any goodwill either,” he said. ICC rejected Bangladesh’s venue change request The ICC had earlier rejected Bangladesh’s request to move their matches outside India. The apex body issued a statement where they announced that the T20 World Cup will go as per the original schedule and, in turn, gave Bangladesh a deadline to determine their stance. Aminul Islam however, added that BCB will continue to ‘fight’ to play the T20 World Cup and communicate to the ICC again about their decision to not tour India for the tournament. ” We are not giving up on playing the World Cup. A global organisation cannot give a deadline of 24 hours. We will keep fighting,” he said. Bangladesh are scheduled to start their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 7 February. They will play two more matches (vs Italy and England) in Kolkata before their final group game against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.