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The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 kicks off in 10 days and there is no shortage of off-field drama. Bangladesh, who were knocked out for their refusal to travel to India, have now claimed that around 130-150 of their journalists were denied accreditation for the tournament. Some claimed that their approvals were later rescinded.

The ICC and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) are involved in a tussle once again in the build up to the T20 World Cup 2026. The two bodies were involved in discussions before ICC replaced the Asian nation with Scotland for the tournament. Now, BCB claim that several of their journalists were denied accreditation to cover the event in India and Sri Lanka.

While Bangladesh do not remain a part of their tournament, as member nation, their media representatives can travel and cover the tournament. However, BCB Media Committee chairman Amzad Hossain claimed that about 130-150 of their journalists were denied accreditation.

“As far as I know, all Bangladeshi journalists were rejected. Around 130 to 150 journalists applied this year, but none received accreditation,” he said, as quoted by GeoSport.

Some reports have suggested that a small number of journalists did receive approval only for the ICC to pull back. Arifur Rahman Babu, president of the Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association (BSJA) has called for an explanation. He claimed that ICC had put a blanket ban on their journalists because of Bangladesh's withdrawal from the tournament.

ICC 'reworking' accreditation process

As reported by PTI, ICC are reworking their accreditation process in response to claims of rejection by Bangladeshi journalists. As per ICC sources, roughly 80-90 journalists applied for the accreditation for the tournament.

The report states that a member nation can only have a maximum of 40 journalists at the event. However, now with team and schedule changes, ICC is assessing the situation on a case by case basis. As a result, all Bangladesh applications will have to be re-applied.

The incident is a latest blow in ICC-BCB relations. BCB's request for a venue change was rejected by the world body leading to Bangladesh refusing to travel. ICC replaced them with Scotland, with the tournament set to kick off on February 7.