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The Bangladesh government has announced its complete opposition to the T20 World Cup 2026. The Bangladesh cricket board declared that the national team will not go to India for the upcoming tournament. This decision has created a major shock in the cricket world, as it now puts Bangladesh's participation in the tournament at serious risk.

 

The announcement emerged after several days of negotiations which included internal staff meetings and International Cricket Council (ICC) requests for information. Bangladesh had first requested the ICC to move their matches out of India because they cited security concerns and administrative problems. The ICC denied Bangladesh's request and confirmed that there would be no changes to the tournament schedule. Bangladesh decided to stop their travel plans after this incident.

 

BCB President Explains the Stand

 

BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul spoke to the media and shared the board’s view on the matter. He confirmed that Bangladesh was willing to play in the World Cup but they would not play in India. The Bangladesh board and ICC had recent disagreements about some of their decisions according to him.

 

Bulbul said:

 

"We will continue to communicate with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we won't play in India. We will keep fighting. There were some shocking calls in the ICC Board Meeting. The Mustafizur issue is not an isolated single issue. They (India) were the sole decision makers in that issue."

 

He also added:

 

"ICC had denied us our request to shift our matches away from India. We are not sure about the status of world cricket. Its popularity is going down. They have locked away 200 million people. Cricket is going to the Olympics, but if a country like us is not going there, it is ICC's failure."

 

Also Read | ICC Warns Bangladesh to Play T20 World Cup in India or Be Replaced

 

Meeting Held Before Announcement

 

Before the decision became public knowledge, a meeting occurred in Dhaka. The meeting had people from the Bangladesh Cricket Board together with national team cricketers and the interim government's sports advisor. After the discussion, the final position was made known to the media. Bangladesh will not send its team to India for the T20 World Cup unless there is a change in venue according to their announcement.

 

ICC’s Position on the Tournament

 

The ICC has maintained its original position according to the organization. They confirmed that there will be no last-minute changes in the T20 World Cup schedule or venues. Sources also said that if Bangladesh continues with this stance, the ICC may replace them with another team for the tournament. India and Sri Lanka will divide the responsibility of hosting the World Cup between them.

 

Background of the Mustafizur Rahman Issue

 

The Bangladesh board filed an official complaint to ICC about Kolkata Knight Riders releasing Mustafizur Rahman before IPL 2026 according to BCCI instructions because this action created tensions. The Bangladesh board became upset over this action and they brought the matter to ICC. Bangladesh linked this incident with their request for venue change and said it was part of a larger problem.

 

Bangladesh repeated that security was the main reason behind their request to move matches to Sri Lanka, but ICC denied it.