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Updated: Jan 22, 2026, 10:48 AM•Published Jan 21, 2026, 10:45 AM
Live - Bangladesh firm on not playing T20 WC in India
Overview
- Follow ESPNcricinfo's coverage of the ICC boarding meeting on Wednesday
- BCB firm on stance that Bangladesh won't play T20 World Cup matches in India
- ICC told BCB that Bangladesh would be replaced if they didn't travel to India
Bangladesh firm on not playing T20 WC in India
Following a meeting between the BCB, Bangladesh's cricketers and the government's sports advisor in Dhaka, Bangladesh's stance has not changed: they don't want to play their T20 World Cup matches in India, and want their fixtures moved to Sri Lanka.
Here are some excerpts from the press conference following the meeting:
BCB president Aminul Islam: "We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka. They did give us a 24 hour ultimatum but a global body can't really do that. ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss ... ICC is calling Sri Lanka co-hosts. They are not co-hosts. It is a hybrid model. Some of the things I heard in the ICC meeting was shocking."
Government sports adviser Asif Nazrul: "We are hopeful that ICC will give us the opportunity to play in Sri Lanka. It is our government who has decided not to go to India."
On Wednesday, after the ICC Board meeting, the ICC dismissed the BCB's security concerns and said Bangladesh would be replaced at the T20 World Cup if they continued to insist on not playing in India.
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Will Bangladesh change their stance on playing in India?
The Bangladesh cricketers have arrived at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dhaka to meet Asif Nazrul, the sports adviser. BCB president Aminul Islam has also arrived. The meeting has begun.
Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Jaker Ali and Saif Hassan are among the cricketers present. BCB president Aminul Islam and CEO Nizamuddin are also there.
ESPNcricinfo understands that the prevailing sentiment among the players is that they want to play the World Cup. They plan to tell the government representative that they want to play in the World Cup.
So far, ever since January 4, the BCB and the Bangladesh government have remained firm in their refusal to travel to India due to security concerns. If they continue to do so, they will not be part of the T20 World Cup. That’s what this meeting is for today - to decide once and for all whether Bangladesh will travel to India or give up their place in the tournament.
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Bangladesh players, BCB await meeting with government
Last evening, after the ICC had said it would replace Bangladesh at the upcoming T20 World Cup if they refused to play in India, the BCB said it would meet with the Bangladesh government one more time to see if there was a way forward. Some of the Bangladesh players are also expected to attend the meeting in Dhaka, which will begin shortly.
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ICC board votes to replace Bangladesh if they don't travel to India
It is understood the ICC has told the BCB to inform the Bangladesh government that if Bangladesh continues to refuse to travel to India to play its matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup, then they will be replaced by another team at the tournament. That decision was followed by a vote, where the majority of the ICC Board was in favour of having a replacement.
BCB have been given one more day to come back to the ICC on its stance on playing in India.
If that is the case, then Scotland is likely to replace Bangladesh in Group C at the World Cup. Scotland had failed to qualify for the 2026 T20 World Cup, having finished behind Netherlands, Italy and Jersey at the European Qualifier.
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ICC board meeting begins
The ICC board meeting to take a decision on the impasse with the BCB over Bangladesh's refusal to play their 2026 T20 World Cup matches has begun.
The meeting is being attended by the directors of all Full Member countries. It is understood that, apart from the ICC chair Jay Shah, those participating in the meeting include BCB president Aminul Islam, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, SLC president Shammi Silva, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, CA chairman Mike Baird, Zimbabwe Cricket president Tavenga Mukuhlani, CWI president Kishore Shallow, Cricket Ireland chair Brian MacNeice, Cricket New Zealand representative Roger Twose, ECB chair Richard Thompson, Cricket South Arica representative Mohammed Moosajee and Mirwais Ashraf, Cricket Afghanistan chairman.
Also attending the meeting is top brass of ICC management including Sanjog Gupta (CEO), ICC’s deputy chairman Imran Khawaja and Gaurav Saxena (General Manager, Events), and two Associate Member directors Mubashshir Usmani and Mahinda Vallipuram.
ICC’s anti-corruption head Andrew Ephgrave is also participating in the meeting. Ephgrave was in Dhaka last week to have in-person meetings with BCB to assuage the security concerns the latter has repeatedly expressed on Bangladesh travelling to India.
Overnight on Wednesday, news emerged that the PCB had written to the ICC supporting Bangladesh’s stance on not playing in India.
Here are some possible scenarios about how this impasse could end.
Is there a security threat for travelling teams in in India? A risk assessment report for the T20 World Cup, compiled by an independent security agency, and accessed by ESPNcricinfo, says the threat to teams playing in India is in the moderate-high band, but there is "no information to indicate a direct threat against participating teams."
Bangladesh are in Group C at the T20 World Cup and scheduled to play their first three games in Kolkata on February 7, 9 and 14 and the final one in Mumbai on February 17.
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