The ICC will send a small delegation to Dhaka this weekend, hoping face-to-face discussions can break the stalemate over Bangladesh’s participation in next month’s men’s T20 World Cup. The tournament begins on 7 February, and, as things stand, all four of Bangladesh’s Group C fixtures are pencilled in for Indian venues.
Senior ICC officials plan to lay out detailed security arrangements and share an independent risk assessment with Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) directors. Whether the group can also deliver a formal guarantee from the Indian government remains unclear.
The trip comes after the BCB repeated that it would not send the national side across the border because of “security concerns”. Up to now, every meeting has been held online; this will be the first time the two parties sit in the same room.
What the two boards want
During a 13 January video call, the BCB asked the ICC to shift Bangladesh’s matches to a different co-host. The ICC, conscious that the opening game – Bangladesh v West Indies in Kolkata – is less than three weeks away, said the schedule would not change. One board member summed up the governing body’s view later: “Moving fixtures this late sets a precedent we can’t afford.”
The background
Relations between the two neighbouring countries have cooled recently. On 4 January the BCB formally told the ICC it feared for the team’s safety in India. That letter followed the BCCI “authorising” Kolkata Knight Riders to release left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman. No explanation was supplied, and the timing irritated Dhaka administrators.
Independent security advice
An external agency hired by the ICC has rated the overall threat to sides playing in India as moderate to high but found “no information to indicate a direct threat against participating teams.” The document, already shared with the BCB’s own security unit, lists low-to-moderate risks at some grounds and negligible risks at others – the sort of grading the ICC says it works with around the world.
What happens next
If the BCB remains unconvinced after this weekend’s talks, the matter will likely move to the ICC board. With broadcast schedules, ticketing and visas already locked in, senior administrators admit any late reshuffle would be messy. One official put it bluntly: “The clock is ticking, and we’ve run out of easy solutions.”
For now, Bangladesh’s cricketers continue training in Mirpur, unsure whether their next flight path is north-west to Kolkata or simply a domestic hop to Chattogram.
