T20 World Cup crisis: PCB writes to ICC supporting Bangladesh's stance

On Tuesday, a day before the ICC is expected to take a final call on Bangladesh's participation at the 2026 men's T20 World Cup, the PCB wrote to the governing body stating that it supports the BCB's stance on not wanting to play in India at a time of political turmoil in the neighbourhood. ESPNcricinfo has learned that that PCB also copied the members of the ICC Board in it.

It is understood that the ICC has called a Board meeting on Wednesday to address the matter of the BCB asking for Bangladesh's matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka because of security concerns in India. It could not be ascertained if the PCB's email led to the Board meeting being called.

The timing of the PCB email could raise eyebrows, but it is understood that it will not impact the ICC's stance so far, of not changing the World Cup schedule and allowing Bangladesh to play in Sri Lanka, co-hosts of the tournament with India. The ICC has been firm on this and has conveyed the same to the BCB during its interactions last week.

The BCB, with the Bangladesh government's support, has refused to travel to India for the team's group-stage games.

The ICC and the BCB have met several times to discuss the issue, most recently in Dhaka last weekend. But neither side has shifted their stances - the ICC insisting matches must go ahead as planned and the BCB that it cannot send its team to India. January 21 - Wednesday - had been set as a deadline for a decision, less than three weeks before the start of the tournament.

The PCB's late involvement in the matter comes on the back of a week of speculation around their possible ways out of the impasse. There were unverified reports that the PCB had offered to stage Bangladesh's games in Pakistan and, more dramatically, that the PCB was reviewing Pakistan's participation in the World Cup, contingent on what happens with Bangladesh.

The PCB has not commented publicly on the matter, or responded to ESPNcricinfo's queries.

The stand-off began when the BCCI instructed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to remove Mustafizur Rahman from their squad for IPL 2026. The reasons for that have never been fully explained, though a worsening of political ties between Bangladesh and India has been cited. That prompted the Bangladesh government to formally state that the Bangladesh team would not play its matches in India.

The situation has spiralled since then, even leading to a player boycott in Bangladesh, which affected the ongoing BPL, after a senior BCB official spoke disparagingly of the country's premier players when asked about the financial implications for the BCB if Bangladesh ended up staying away from the T20 World Cup altogether.