'We act as if nothing affects us' - Shanto upset about T20 World Cup wrangle

Najmul Hossain Shanto has said that the Bangladesh players are often forced to put up an "act" to deal with controversies ahead of and at major tournaments.

"We haven't got a good result in any World Cup. We had a good opportunity last time [at the T20 World Cup in 2024], but we couldn't do it. But you will notice that before every World Cup, there's some incident that takes place," Shanto, Bangladesh's Test captain, said on Friday in response to a question about the ongoing controversy surrounding Bangladesh's participation at the T20 World Cup in February-March in India and Sri Lanka.

"As a player who has played one or two of these tournaments, I can tell you that it affects us. But we 'act' as if nothing affects us since we are professional cricketers. Even you know that it affects us. It is not easy. It is better if these things didn't happen. I think the players still try to keep all things aside to perform well.

"I would also add that this thing is beyond our control. Wherever we play the World Cup ultimately, I would think that the players have to act like nothing is bothering them, and they can do well for the team."

Just under a month out from the first ball of the T20 World Cup, a final decision on Bangladesh's participation has not been made.

Controversy erupted after the BCCI asked Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to remove their INR 9.2 crore signing Mustafizur Rahman from IPL 2026. The BCCI didn't explicitly mention security concerns but religious and political leaders had threatened KKR owner Shah Rukh Khan over acquiring Mustafizur's services at a time of political differences between Bangladesh and India.

The Bangladesh government acted swiftly, shutting down the IPL's broadcast in Bangladesh, while the BCB has informed the ICC that the team will not tour India, and would rather play their matches in Sri Lanka, owing to security concerns.

Shanto isn't part of the current T20 set-up, but he led the team in Bangladesh's previous T20 World Cup. He was also part of the ODI World Cup campaign in India in 2023.