ICC Unlikely to Concede Bangladesh Demand for Shifting its T20 Cricket Matches from India

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Jan 12: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has called it a “complete lie” the Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul’s claim that the cricket body has acknowledged his country’s specific security concerns if it played matches in India in the coming T20 World Cup.

The ICC instead indicated on Monday that it was unlikely to accept Bangladesh’s demand for a change of venue for its T20 World Cup matches in India after an assessment report of the country’s security concerns placed the threat perception at “low.” As per ICC sources, the world body’s risk assessment report does not flag any specific or direct threat to the Bangladesh team if it participates in the tournament starting February 7.

The ICC’s independent risk assessments, carried out by internationally recognised security experts, did not conclude that Bangladesh cannot play its scheduled matches in India,” an ICC source said. The overall security risk for the tournament in India has been assessed as low to moderate, which is consistent with the profile of many major global sporting events,” the source said.

According to the source, the assessment did not identify any direct threat even to the Bangladesh officials at any venue in India. “Based on the professional advice received, the risk associated with Bangladesh’s scheduled fixtures in Kolkata and Mumbai is assessed as low to moderate, with no indication of risks that cannot be effectively managed through established security planning and mitigation measures,” the source added.

This follows public comments by Mr Nazrul in Dhaka on Monday in which he suggested that the ICC report had flagged a threat to Mustafizur, whose omission from the IPL on BCCI’s directions owing to unspecified “developments all around” prompted the pullout threat from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Mr Nazrul told the media that the ICC has validated BCB’s concerns about travelling to India for the T20 World Cup and agreed that the Bangladesh team and fans would face a security threat in India. Nazrul claimed that the ICC’s security team responded via a letter to BCB, where they validated their security concerns and said that the security threat will increase for the players and the fans if Mustafizur was in Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup squad. He also claimed that cricket’s governing body admitted that Bangladesh’s fans roaming in India in their country’s jersey would also pose a risk.

The ICC, however, rejected the “baseless claims” of Mr Nazrul and said there had been no formal communication from its side to the BCB. ICC also refuted Nazrul’s claims that it said Mustafizur’s selection would increase the security threat for the Bangladesh team in India. “There has been an internal communication from ICC to BCB with regards to security in India. But what Asif Nazrul said is a complete lie. ICC’s communication never mentions that Mustafizur’s selection will be an issue. It’s complete falsehood…There is no such advisory in formal communication,” the ICC sources said.

“I need to inform you that the security team of the ICC and those in charge of security have sent a letter (to BCB). In that letter, it has been said that three things will increase the security threat to the Bangladesh team,” Nazrul said during a press conference in Dhaka. “One is if Mustafizur (Rahman) is included in the Bangladesh team. Two, if the supporters of the Bangladesh team walk around wearing the national jersey of Bangladesh. And the third is that the security threat to the Bangladesh team will increase as the (Bangladesh) elections approach,” he added.

“So this statement of the ICC security team has proven beyond a doubt that there is no situation for the Bangladesh cricket team to play the T20 World Cup in India. If the ICC expects us to make a cricket team without our best bowler, our supporters will not be able to wear the Bangladesh jersey, and we will postpone the Bangladesh elections to play cricket, then there can be no more bizarre, unrealistic and unreasonable expectation than this,” he added.

However, the Bangladesh government’s lies have been debunked by the ICC, which has refuted its sports advisor’s claims. BCB had formally written to the ICC earlier this month, a day after KKR released Mustafizur, requesting the governing body to shift their T20 World Cup matches away from India, citing security concerns. BCB said the call was taken on safety grounds and in consultation with the Bangladesh government.

The BCB later issued a clarification, effectively backpedaling on the assertions made by Nazrul on Monday. “The correspondence cited today by the Advisor for the Ministry of Youth & Sports was in reference to an internal communication between the BCB and the ICC’s Security Department related to threat assessments for the Bangladesh team ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

“This does not constitute a formal response from the ICC to the BCB’s request for the relocation of Bangladesh’s matches outside India,” the BCB said in a statement. The BCB, however, reiterated that it has requested relocation of Bangladesh’s matches outside India “in the interest of the team’s security” and that it is still awaiting an official response from the ICC on this matter.

However, the ICC source maintained that the existing schedule is unlikely to be tinkered with. “The ICC has full confidence in the security arrangements being developed in close collaboration with the BCCI and relevant local authorities, who have a strong and proven track record of safely delivering major international sporting events,” the source said.

The ICC also reiterated that its security planning is an ongoing process. “Participating members, including the Bangladesh Cricket Board, are being consulted as part of this process, and the ICC remains open to constructive dialogue and feedback to further strengthen arrangements where appropriate,” the source added.

The upcoming T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held from February 7 to March 8 across venues in India and Sri Lanka. The BCB’s apprehensions followed the release of Mustafizur from IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders amid attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh. As per the existing fixtures, Bangladesh is scheduled to play its first three group matches in Kolkata and the final one in Mumbai.

Following Mustafizur’s removal from the KKR franchise, the Bangladesh government banned the broadcast of the IPL in the country. However, former captain Tamim Iqbal and test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto have cautioned against a hard-line approach on the matter, with the former saying that the decisions taken today would have repercussions 10 years down the line. Shanto has voiced the psychological stress that the players were feeling at the prospect of missing a World Cup. However, Nazrul has taken an unyielding position and stated that Bangladesh would not budge from its demand.

Last week, BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul had revealed that the board had not received any formal response from the ICC on their request to relocate their matches from India to Sri Lanka in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026.

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the co-host of the world cup along with Sri Lankan cricket board, has also not received any communication from the ICC regarding BCB’s request to relocate Bangladesh’s matches from India to Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2026. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia revealed on Monday that BCCI was yet to receive an update from the ICC and that discussions were underway between the world body and the BCB.

India and Sri Lanka are the designated hosts of the T20 World Cup 2026, which is set to be played from February 07 to March 08. Bangladesh are scheduled to play all of their four group matches in India as per the current schedule. However, it remains to be seen if there will be any changes in the venues after BCB’s request to relocate their matches.