KEY POINTS
- Bangladesh officials condemn the ICC’s rejection of venue shift as “unacceptable” and “against the spirit of cricket.”
- Bangladesh blames Indian government for “failing to provide security assurances”.
- BCB warns ICC of alienating 200 million fans, risking sport’s popularity by upholding an “unjust” decision.
ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh on Thursday criticised the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) “unacceptable” decision and raised concerns over “failed” security assurances from India after the ICC rejected its request to relocate its T20 World Cup matches to a neutral venue.
Dhaka said the decision was unfair and insisted it could not send its team to India without firm guarantees for the safety of players, officials and supporters.
Earlier today, ICC rejected Bangladesh’s request to relocate its matches to Sri Lanka or any other neutral venue. Senior Bangladeshi officials condemned the decision as unjust and against the spirit of cricket.
The escalating diplomatic-sporting crisis centres on unresolved security assurances and a past on-field incident, with Bangladesh warning the ICC of alienating millions of fans.
ICC decision ‘unacceptable’
Bangladesh’s Youth and Sports Adviser, Asif Nazrul, set a defiant tone on Thursday, directly criticising both the ICC and the Indian government.
He labelled the ICC’s decision to dismiss Bangladesh’s venue-change request as “unacceptable” and “unfair.”
Nazrul squarely placed blame on New Delhi for the deadlock, stating, “The Indian government has failed to provide the necessary assurances, offer an apology for the Mustafizur incident, or demonstrate a commitment to making amends.”
He emphasised that there had been no meaningful outreach from India to guarantee the safety of Bangladeshi athletes, journalists, and fans, leaving “no scope to change our decision.”
BCB reaffirm not to play in India
Reinforcing the government’s stance, BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul reiterated that Bangladesh’s national team would not travel to India.
“We are still standing by our demand: we want to play the World Cup, but not in India,” Bulbul stated, adding that the team was ready to compete in Sri Lanka or another neutral venue.
In a pointed warning to the sport’s global governing body, Bulbul highlighted the potential fallout of Bangladesh’s withdrawal.
“The ICC could lose a huge audience,” he cautioned, questioning the ICC’s decision-making.
“When the sport’s popularity was at risk, we expected the ICC to act in ways that wouldn’t exclude 200 million fans from following the game.”
Deadlock persists
Despite expressing a sliver of hope that the ICC might “eventually do what is right,” Bangladeshi authorities acknowledged the grim reality.
Nazrul cited numerous precedents for shifting venues due to security concerns, arguing their case was based on “genuine risk.”
With ICC having already given its final ruling, Scotland is next in line to replace Bangladesh, based on team rankings, in the T20I World Cup.
