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Rohit Kumar

NEW DELHI, Jan 23: Amidst disquiet among the Bangladesh playing eleven, who claimed that they were not “consulted” but only conveyed the government’s decision not to participate in the T20 World Cup in India, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday made a final roll of the dice regarding its demand to shift its matches from India to Sri Lanka.

The BCB has reportedly written a letter to the global body seeking intervention from the ICC’s independent Dispute Resolution Committee. According to media reports, the BCB is hopeful that the ICC will respond to their letter and refer their demand for a change in venue to the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC).

The DRC consists of independent lawyers and is an arbitration body that resolves disputes to the ICC. It operates under English law, with proceedings seated in London. The DRC is not only an appeal forum; it also assesses the lawfulness and interpretation of ICC decisions. Its verdicts are final and binding, with no right of appeal except on very limited procedural grounds.

The ICC on Wednesday rejected the BCB’s request to move their matches out of India for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup via video conference, which was convened to discuss the way forward. The BCB President, Aminul Islam Bulbul, confirmed on Thursday that the BCB stands firm in its decision not to play its ICC Men’s World Cup matches in India, following the ICC’s rejection of its request.

As per the current schedule, Bangladesh are scheduled to kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 against two-time champions West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, then face Italy on February 9 at the same venue before facing England in Kolkata again. After facing England, Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Mumbai to play Nepal at Wankhede Stadium.

The government’s decision left the Bangladesh cricket team players rejected. The media reports claimed that the players were in favor of playing the T20 World Cup matches in India but their views ended up having little impact on the final decision.

“The meeting was called not to give our consent as it was made out to be initially. Rather, we were called so that we are aware of the development in the ongoing crisis. They made up their mind and decided what they will do before coming into the meeting, and it’s not like any decision was taken taking our views into consideration,” said a cricketer.

“They didn’t ask. They made the plan directly and said it’s not happening. Earlier, they would sit with us and hear us out. But now, they’ve already said we’re not going,” he said. “The thing is, Bangladesh’s government call was already made and nothing else but that’s the real story. It was a direct order from the government – ​​it’s not happening.”

According to the report, both T20 captain and Litton Das and Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto were in favor of playing the World Cup. However, their views were not taken into consideration. “Cricket is finished. If we don’t go, it will be our cricket’s loss. Who cares?” said another cricketer.

Meanwhile, the ICC is believed to be contemplating strict action against Bangladesh for refusing to travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026. Pulling out of the T20 World Cup won’t be taken lightly by the ICC, especially after signing the Members Participation Agreement (MPA). If the ICC sources are to be believed, the ICC chairman Jay Shah is already in Dubai to make the final call in this regard and strict action is very likely against Bangladesh.

Bangladesh will most definitely lose out on approximately $300,000 as participation fees for the group stages. Also, according to ICC’s MPA, a board withdrawing from a global event after initially committing to it will face a hefty fine. Moreover, their revenue share as per the 2024-27 model will take a massive hit.

Furthermore, Bangladesh will lose ranking points with 20 other teams featuring in the World Cup. They will also slip in the ICC rankings as a lot of teams below them in the rankings will be in action. Also, their automatic qualification could be affected in return for the next World Cup and be forced to play qualifiers against lower-ranked teams.

Bangladesh cricket is most certainly in a sorry state at the moment as the players were willing to play in the T20 World Cup only to be stopped by their board and the government. “I feel sorry for the cricketers because they are the ones who have put up a lot of effort to develop as a formidable T20I unit and you cannot deny our recent results validate the claim. We can only hope this too shall pass,” a member of the team management who attended the meeting of players with the Bangladesh sports advisor on Thursday, said.