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Time is running out for Bangladesh to make up their mind about playing in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026 or pulling out. The International Cricket Council (ICC) took a firm decision not to make any changes to the T20 World Cup 2026 schedule in spite of Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) demands for shifting their league matches out of India to Sri Lanka. The ICC board to a vote on Bangladesh’s demand and overwhelming voted 14-2 in favour of decision that Bangladesh cricket team should be replaced by Scotland if they refuse to play in India. The only 2 member nations who went against this decision were Bangladesh themselves and Pakistan. The BCB President and former captain Aminul Islam is now ‘praying’ for a miracle and begged in front of one more day’s time to convince the Bangladesh government and the sports adviser to change their mind. “I asked the ICC board for time to talk to my government for one last time” Aminul was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo website. “They said it’s a valid point and gave me 24 or 48 hours to get back to them. I don’t want to put pressure on the government. We know that India is not secure for us. We remain in the stance that we want to play in Sri Lanka. I know the ICC denied us but we will talk to the government one more time. I will inform the ICC about the governments feedback.”   The ICC has confirmed that the Men’s #T20WorldCup fixtures will proceed as scheduled. Details https://t.co/PvpW5NJ1eI — ICC (@ICC) January 21 2026 ICC have only given Bangladesh 24 hours to announce their final decision in the matter. “I am hoping for a miracle from the ICC. Who doesn’t want to play in the World Cup?” Aminul said. “The Bangladesh players want to play the World Cup. The Bangladesh government wants Bangladesh to play the World Cup. But we dont think India is safe for our players. A government doesnt only consider the players but they consider all when it takes a decision” he added. Bangladesh government sports advisor Asif Nazrul to meet national team players According to a report in Cricbuzz website Bangladesh government’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul is set to meet national team’s players on Thursday (January 22) to discuss about their participation in the T20 World Cup 2026. Nazrul is keen to hear about the views of the cricketers. Earlier Bangladesh’s T20I skipper Litton Das admitted to the media that the players’ consent was not taken in the matter when the BCB demanded a shift of venue from India to Sri Lanka for their league matches. Bangladesh team cricketers have been instructed to attend the meeting which will be held at 3pm onwards at Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka as the government would like to brief them about their position with regards to the national teams participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. Bangladesh had demanded for a shift of their Group C league stage matches from Kolkata and Mumbai to Sri Lanka raising security concerns after pacer Mustafizur Rahman was released by Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team ahead of IPL 2026 season on instructions of the BCCI. ICC inform Bangladesh to play in India during ICC T20 World Cup 2026 or be replaced ICC informed Bangladesh that it is not feasible to change the schedule of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 after all the security assessments. “It was noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances in the absence of any credible security threat could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events and undermine its neutrality as a global governing body” ICC statement read. “Despite these efforts the BCB maintained its position repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its player’s involvement in a domestic league. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup” the ICC statement added. Bangladesh are currently in Group C along with England Italy West Indies and Nepal and are scheduled to play their first three games in Kolkata and their last one at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They are set to play West Indies on February 7 the opening day of the tournament at the Eden Gardens.