‘If we signed Jasprit Bumrah and removed him…’:Bangladesh coach says players ‘disappointed’, but life moves on after T20 World Cup drama

The impasse over Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 has ended with the International Cricket Council (ICC) officially replacing them with Scotland in the tournament. Bangladesh had earlier sought the relocation of their matches outside India due to security reasons, but the ICC rejected that request. Bangladesh are now officially out of the T20 World Cup. And although it is a disappointing development, former cricketer and current batting coach of the national team, Mohammad Ashraful, reckons that this isn’t the end of the world for them. Speaking to Bhaskar English, Ashraful shared his thoughts on Bangladesh’s exclusion from the T20 World Cup, the controversy on Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL omission and also on their future course of action. Players are disappointed but life will not stop, says Mohammad Ashraful Although dejected, Ashraful shared that not playing in the T20 World Cup is not the end of the world. The former cricketer also revealed how Mustafizur’s IPL exclusion forced them to feel insecure about playing in India. “Players want to play in an ICC event like the World Cup. They are obviously disappointed. If they had played, it would have been a very big achievement in their lives. But they are sad that they will miss this opportunity,” Ashraful said. “That they are not able to play is in itself a sad thing for the whole of Bangladesh. We have been part of every ICC event since the 1999 World Cup. This has stemmed from the Mustafizur issue. The way the Indian cricket board dealt with this whole thing, we could understand that things are becoming difficult for us players,” he said on Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup exclusion, adding, “If you remove a player because you cannot provide security, how can you provide security to Bangladeshi journalists and others?” However, this isn’t the end of the road for Bangladesh cricket, reckons the ex-cricketer. He said that Bangladesh will prepare for the next assignment after being excluded from the T20 World Cup. “Life will get back to normal. We have seen many instances in the past where teams have pulled out of many tournaments. Life will not stop. We will prepare for the next assignment. Pakistan will come to Bangladesh for 3 ODIs and New Zealand will also come. We are slated to tour Australia as well. So things will go on as scheduled,” the 41-year-old revealed. ‘Was preparing for T20 World Cup, team was shaping up well’ Despite the T20 World Cup venue row involving Bangladesh, which dominated cricket headlines for a number of weeks, the players had prepared for the tournament. Ashraful shared that they were hopeful of doing well this time, having reached the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage in the last edition. “We were preparing for the T20 World Cup. The BPL just finished, and our team was shaping up really well. In 2025, out of almost eight series, we have won five. So we were expecting something good from the T20 World Cup as well. We have been part of every T20 World Cup since 2007,” he said. Ashraful added, “In the last T20 World Cup in America and the West Indies, we had our best performance, playing in the Super 8. We were expecting to do something good this time as well.” ‘What if we did the same with Jasprit Bumrah?’ On 3 January, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) excluded Mustafizur from their IPL 2026 squad upon the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) instruction after the board faced threats from some groups amidst reports of anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh. Ashraful felt that the BCB and BCCI could have discussed this issue after the T20 World Cup. “I think all of this could have been handled smoothly. The IPL is after the World Cup. If the two cricket boards (BCB and BCCI) had discussed the Mustafizur Rahman issue after the World Cup, it would have been better. The BCCI removed Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL, pressurising KKR without communicating with the BCB. Hence, it is natural for every government not see this in a good light,” he said. Ashraful went on to add that it would not have been pleasant either if Bangladesh had done the same thing with Jasprit Bumrah as India did with Mustafizur. “If we had signed Jasprit Bumrah and then removed him, it would not have been nice either. The interim government won’t be there for long. We will have a new government, and I hope that cricket or sports will not have any politics,” he said. Ashraful also echoed BCB president Aminul Islam, who had referenced India getting an alternate venue to play in the ICC Champions Trophy after they refused to go to Pakistan, citing security concerns. “Because of India, the ICC Champions Trophy or Asia Cup were held in a hybrid model. Since India didn’t want to go to Pakistan or Pakistan didn’t go to India, the tournaments are held in Dubai. We have seen this in the Asia Cup and also the Champions Trophy. The BCB and the government wanted the team to play in Sri Lanka. That is what we wanted.” Scotland have officially replaced Bangladesh in Group C, and will feature in the prestigious tournament as the saga came to an end on Saturday.