The Bangladesh Cricket Board has until 21 January to tell the ICC whether its men’s side will travel to India for next month’s T20 World Cup. That deadline was put on the table during a second round of talks in Dhaka on Saturday, and, for now, neither side is blinking.
“We want to play the World Cup,” BCB president Nazmul Hassan said after the meeting, “but we have to be satisfied that our players are safe. Sri Lanka looks the simpler option.”
The ICC, represented by its head of events Chris Tetley, restated that it will not redraw the schedule. Bangladesh remain in Group C, slated to open against West Indies in Kolkata on 7 February, with two more games in the city before finishing the group phase in Mumbai.
An ICC spokesperson was brief: “At this stage we see no reason to move any fixtures. Independent security advice points to a medium-to-high general risk in India, but there is no specific threat to Bangladesh or any other team.”
That assurance has not, so far, convinced the BCB. Its written request to play all group matches in co-host Sri Lanka still stands, while a separate plea to swap groups with Ireland – who are in Colombo and Hambantota – was rejected on Saturday. The impasse has been running since 4 January, when the BCB first raised its concerns, and shrinks the margin for late planning with the tournament barely three weeks away.
If Bangladesh refuse to travel, the ICC is expected to replace them with Scotland on current rankings. No one on either side will say so on the record, but that possibility is already pencilled in.
Background noise has hardly helped. In early January, on the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s instruction, Kolkata Knight Riders quietly released Mustafizur Rahman from their 2026 IPL roster. The move was not explained publicly. Dhaka responded by banning the IPL’s television feed at home and, within days, sent its letter to the ICC.
Former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar is frustrated. “Players just want certainty,” he told local radio. “Every day that passes makes preparation harder.”
A senior Sri Lanka Cricket official, meanwhile, confirmed the island would be “ready to host extra matches at short notice” but admitted the board has had no formal approach from the ICC.
For now, all eyes are on the BCB executive meeting scheduled for 20 January. One director summed up the mood: “We’ve stated our position. Either the ICC bends, or we do. Something has to give.”
Whatever the final call, it will land before Sunday week. And, when it does, the 2026 T20 World Cup will move on – with or without Bangladesh.
