The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reportedly refused to travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026 amid growing tensions between both countries. The board’s decision comes after an emergency meeting was held on Saturday evening where Bangladesh’s interim government’s Youth and Sports Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul recommended the BCB to urge the ICC to relocate BAN’s matches. Amid prevailing tensions between both countries, the issue snowballed after the BCCI asked KKR to release Mustafizur Rahman following which the BCCI decided to put India’s tour to Bangladesh in September on hold.
Bangladesh won’t travel to India for T20 World Cup
“An emergency meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was held this afternoon to discuss recent developments related to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, scheduled to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The Board reviewed the situation in detail, taking into account developments over the last 24 hours and expressed deep concern over the overall circumstances surrounding the participation of the Bangladesh National Team in matches scheduled to be played in India.
Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government, the Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions.
In light of this decision, the BCB has formally requested the International Cricket Council (ICC), as the event authority, to consider relocating all of Bangladesh’s matches to a venue outside India.
The Board believes that such a step is necessary to safeguard the safety and well-being of Bangladeshi players, team officials, Board members and other stakeholders and to ensure that the team can participate in the tournament in a secure and appropriate environment.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board looks forward to the ICC’s understanding of the situation and an urgent response on this matter,” BCB said in a statement.
Earlier today, a report claimed that the BCB will write to the ICC seeking urgent clarification on security arrangements for Bangladesh players, team officials, media personnel, sponsors and travelling supporters during the tournament. Meanwhile, the BCCI has rejected Bangladesh’s plea to shift their T20 WC games, labelling it as a logistical nightmare.
“We are sending letter to ICC putting three clauses into it. Firstly, we would like to know from them about Mustafizur (exclusion from IPL) and secondly what is the security plan for us in the World Cup. More so because not only players will travel to India but along with them, media, fans and sponsors would also travel there to see the World Cup. Those who will go there, what will be their security status,” a top BCB official told Cricbuzz.
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