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PTC News Desk: Amid reports from Bangladesh suggesting that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has proposed a new solution to the T20 World Cup 2026 dispute by requesting the ICC to swap their group with Ireland, Cricket Ireland has stated that the ICC has assured them their fixtures will not be relocated from Sri Lanka. 

“We have been given firm confirmation that our schedule remains unchanged. We will definitely play our Group Stage matches in Sri Lanka,” a Cricket Ireland official told Cricbuzz.

Ireland are placed in Group B of the 2026 T20 World Cup along with co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Zimbabwe and Oman. All matches in this group are scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka, split between Kandy and Colombo.

Bangladesh, however, are part of Group C with West Indies, England, Nepal and Italy, and have expressed reluctance to travel to India for their matches due to security concerns. Their group games are currently set for Kolkata and Mumbai. 

On Saturday, during a meeting with the ICC in Dhaka, the BCB proposed swapping groups with Ireland as a potential solution. The ICC delegation included Andrew Ephgrave, General Manager of the Integrity Unit, in person, while Gaurav Saxena, General Manager of Events and Corporate Communications, joined virtually because of a visa delay. BCB president Md Aminul Islam, vice-presidents Md Shakawath Hossain and Faruque Ahmed, Cricket Operations Committee chairman Nazmul Abedeen, and CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury also attended the meeting.

“In addition to other matters, the option of assigning Bangladesh to a different group to resolve the issue with minimal logistical disruption was discussed,” the BCB said in its statement. However, according to a Cricbuzz report, the ICC did not support the proposal.