The International Cricket Council has determined that at present there is no particular or increased threat to members of the Bangladesh cricket team against whom security measures could be directed when they are playing in India during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This was communicated to BCB after conducting an internal assessment of their security concerns.
ICC Security Assessment Shared with BCB
There are no threats to Bangladesh’s involvement in India as per the internal report of ICC submitted to the BCB security team last week, it said, quoting an assessment of threats at different venues that found them to be low to moderate in some venues and low to nil in others. This is normal and does not call for rescheduling matches, it said.
Bangladesh Sports Adviser Raises Concerns
In spite of such findings, Bangladesh’s sports advisor, Asif Nazrul, repeated concerns about holding matches in India. He stated: “Communications received from the ICC’s security squads drew attention to possible concerns about:
- The presence of fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman
- Fans of Bangladesh in Indian jersey groups
- Upcoming national elections in Bangladesh
These, according to Nazrul, indicated what Bangladesh might be facing when he insisted that any hope to Change team selection, limit access to fans, or postpone elections was “unrealistic and unreasonable.”
ICC Rejects Claims of Imposed Conditions
It quotes sources that say the ICC believes Nazrul’s comments were a misunderstanding of the usual contingency planning. Such reports usually contain an over-and-above scenario and do not highlight an identified risk or a condition precedent.
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Importantly, the ICC has not ordered:
- Bangladesh omitting no player from selection
- Fans asked to avoid wearing team colors
- Bangladesh to postpone domestic elections
ICC argues that the tournament schedule is final, publicly announced and that all teams including Bangladesh are expected to fulfill their participation obligations.
BCB Clarifies Its Position on Match Relocation
The BCB subsequently released an official clarification in response to the escalating controversy, stating, “The ICC security assessment was not a formal response from them to our request to shift matches out of India.
“The correspondence cited below pertains to internal communication between the BCB and the ICC’s Security Department on threat assessments,” the BCB said.
“This does not constitute an official response to our relocation request.”
The BCB says it has already formally raised concern over arrangements with venues and is still awaiting an ICC decision officially on rearranging matches involving Bangladesh.
Why India Venues Became a Flashpoint
The Bangladesh team will play their opening group matches in Kolkata and their final group encounter in Mumbai. Tensions arose when the BCCI asked Kolkata Knight Riders to withdraw Mustafizur Rahman from their pool for the IPL 2026 Competition.
Following this:
- The Bangladesh government banned IPL broadcasts in the country
- The BCB formally wrote to the ICC stating its refusal to play World Cup matches in India
- Calls to relocate Bangladesh’s fixtures intensified, led by Asif Nazrul
Strained diplomatic relations between the two nations have further fuelled the issue.
T20 World Cup 2026 Schedule Remains Unchanged
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will start on February 7, 2026. For now, the ICC has not changed the schedule and keeps communicating with BCB through official channels.
Key Takeaways
- ICC security report finds no threat to Bangladesh in India
- Webmaster Files: Baseball, Cricket, Entertainment, India, Photos, Sports
- ICC refutes reports about restrictions on players, spectators, or elections
- The matches of Bangladesh are still to be held in Kolkata and Mumbai
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