The ICC has told the Bangladesh Cricket Board it is “willing to work closely” with Dhaka to guarantee the “full and uninterrupted participation” of Shakib Al Hasan’s side at the men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to begin on 7 February across India and Sri Lanka.
That message was relayed during a Tuesday evening call and confirmed by a BCB media release the following day. Bangladesh had earlier asked for their Group C matches – three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai – to be shifted after raising security worries.
“The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has received response from the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding the Board’s expressed concerns over the safety and security of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team in India for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, including the request for relocation of the team’s matches,” the statement read. “In its communication, the ICC has reiterated its commitment to ensuring the full and uninterrupted participation of the Bangladesh team in the tournament. The ICC has conveyed its willingness to work closely with the BCB to address the concerns raised and has assured that the Board’s inputs will be welcomed and duly considered as part of the detailed security planning for the event.”
For now, Bangladesh remain pencilled in to face West Indies (7 Feb), Italy (9 Feb) and England (14 Feb) at Eden Gardens before meeting Nepal in Mumbai three days later. Under tournament playing conditions, refusing to take the field would mean forfeiting points. Reports suggesting the ICC had already issued that threat, though, were brushed aside by the BCB.
“The BCB has also taken note of certain reports published in a section of the media suggesting that the Board has been issued an ultimatum in this regard,” the same release added. “The BCB categorically states that such claims are completely false, unfounded and do not reflect the nature or content of the communication received from the ICC.”
Privately, officials in both camps insist dialogue will continue. One senior administrator, speaking off the record, called the current stage “delicate but fixable”. Another noted that robust security planning is standard practice when global events visit the sub-continent, pointing to the 2023 ODI World Cup as a recent example.
Relations between Dhaka and the Indian board have cooled since the BCCI asked Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman ahead of the 2026 IPL without publicly stating its reasons. That move, though not directly linked to the World Cup, heightened Dhaka’s unease.
Assessing the cricket itself, Group C is deceptively tricky. England and West Indies travel with deep batting, while Nepal’s spinners are rarely pushovers in early-season conditions. Bangladesh’s best path, therefore, is surely to settle the off-field question quickly and focus on familiarising themselves with the Eden surface where turn and dew can arrive in the same evening.
There is still time. Warm-up matches begin only in late January, and venue-specific security briefings are customary in the final fortnight. As one security consultant put it, “fine-tuning happens right up until the toss.”
The BCB, for its part, closed its statement with a reiteration of first principles: “The Bangladesh Cricket Board remains firmly committed to placing the highest priority on the safety, security and well-being of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team.”
That may sound obvious, but in an ICC event staged across two countries, clarity matters. For now, the ball is back with tournament organisers to produce a plan detailed enough to reassure – and soon enough to allow Bangladesh to play on the field rather than off it.
