The cricketing world is on edge as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially thrown its weight behind Bangladesh's refusal to play matches in India for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. With the tournament set to begin on 7 February, the standoff has escalated into a diplomatic crisis, leaving PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi to make what could be the most defining decision of his tenure. In a bold move that sent shockwaves through the International Cricket Council (ICC), Pakistan has formally supported the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) security concerns. Reports indicate that the PCB sent a detailed email to the ICC, with copies to all board members, endorsing Bangladesh's stance. Now, PCB chairman Naqvi has been backed to take the final stand on the topic by none other than one of his predecessors, Najam Sethi. The controversy stems from Bangladesh's refusal to tour India following the BCCI's directive to remove pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL, a move lin...
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday said it accepted the ICC's decision to replace its national team with Scotland in next month's T20 World Cup, saying there is nothing more they could do now. The ICC on Saturday confirmed that Scotland will replace Bangladesh in the next month's T20 World Cup to be jointly held in India and Sri Lanka. The ICC was forced to make the late change after Bangladesh remained fixated on their stance that it was unsafe for their players to travel to India for the T20 World Cup, even after an independent security assessment ruling out any specific threat.
BCB media committee chairman Amjad Hossain said the Bangladesh Board tried its best but knew ICC “will not do it” or “do not want to” in terms of meeting his country's request and there was “nothing more” they could do.
“We have tried our best. We fully respect the ICC Board, and the Board's majority decision was that the match cannot be relocated,” he said.
“Even after that, we tried in our own way and made requests. Since they will not do it or do not want to, there is nothing more we can do,” Hossain added.
“We have accepted the ICC Board's decision, as the ICC has said that we will not be able to go and play, nor can our match be shifted to Sri Lanka.” He indicated that the BCB might not go for "any separate arbitration or any other process".
“In this case, we cannot go to India to play, and our stance remains the same. We are not going into any separate arbitration or any other process here.
“We have spoken with the government. The government has said that going to India to play in the World Cup would not be safe for us, for our players, journalists, or anyone accompanying the team,” Hossain said.
“In that case, we requested that our match be shifted to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC did not agree to that, even after several rounds of meetings. Since the ICC did not respond, there is not much we can do because this is the government's decision.
The BCB had requested the ICC to either move their matches to Sri Lanka, or move their national team's positioning to Group C to Group B.
Both these requests, however, were not approved by the ICC whose Board had agreed that in case the BCB fails to obtain their government's clearance, Bangladesh would be replaced in the T20 World Cup.
"Due to security concerns, playing in India is not safe for us, and that is why this decision has been taken,” he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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