The Bangladesh interim government has seemingly done a U-turn on their stance of wanting the team to pull out of the T20 World Cup 2026 and has blamed the players instead now. BAN were replaced by Scotland in the tournament after they expressed unwillingness to travel to India, citing security concerns for their players. Bangladesh’s sports adviser has now put the blame on the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players for opting out of the tournament, signifying that the government has washed its hands away from the matter.
Who forced Bangladesh to pull out of T20 World Cup?
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Bangladesh government’s sports adviser Nazrul claimed that while there were no regrets on Bangladesh pulling out of the T20 World Cup, the decision was taken by the BCB and the players. He claimed that the ‘sacrifice’ was made by the players and the board for the safety of the country. Nazrul, in the past, had claimed that it was the Bangladesh government’s decision to not send their team to India for the event, in the light of soaring tensions between the two countries.
“There is no question of regret [at being excluded from the World Cup]. This decision was taken by the BCB and the players as they made sacrifices for the safety of the country’s cricket, the safety of the people and to protect national dignity,” Asif Nazrul said.
The BCB has been active in the discussions with the ICC over Pakistan’s threat to boycott the IND vs PAK match. BCB chairman Animul Islam was a part of the virtual meeting with the global body which included the PCB as well. On Tuesday, reports stated that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had requested Bangladesh to make a formal appeal to the ICC over the IND vs PAK clash on February 15 in order to ‘wriggle out of the mess’.
In a statement, the ICC informed that no sanctions would be imposed on ‘full-member nation’ Bangladesh. The global body has also promised an ICC event for Bangladesh before 2031.
