B’desh makes U-turn; to ‘work with ICC’ on T20 WC concerns
new delhi: The tough posturing by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) over refusal to travel to India next month for the ICC T20 World Cup is being seen as mere optics. After Mustafizur Rahman, who was signed by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 9.2 crores at the IPL auction was asked to be dropped by the BCCI last week, the BCB has felt slighted.
Writing to the International Cricket Council (ICC) that their matches be shifted outside India to a neutral venue has not met with the desired response. Grapevine says the BCB, now in a defiant mood, will have no other option but to travel to India.
For its part, the ICC is handling the matter with tact and calm. There have been meetings online between the ICC and Bangladesh board but there’s whatsoever no hint matches will be shifted out. A few facts need to be put in perspective. Whenever the Bangladesh cricket team has travelled to India, there was never any security issue. Sources said just because the lone player who got a good deal at the IPL auction has been asked to leave due to ‘political reasons’ does not mean “India is unsafe”. There is nothing to substantiate this, said sources.
On Wednesday, the Bangladesh cricket board put out a statement as well, which read more like an apology of sorts. “The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has received response from the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding the Board’s expressed concerns over the safety and security of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team in India for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, including the request for relocation of the team’s matches,” the BCB said in a statement on Wednesday.
In a letter put out by the BCB, what is also clear is that they are in no position to bargain or arm-twisting the ICC. Then again, insiders in the BCCI pointed out that comparing the current situation with complexities involved in cricketing ties between India and Pakistan cannot be used as a parallel.
Indeed, India versus Pakistan has grabbed eyeballs, even though results in both the T20 and ODI formats have seen the Men in Blue emerge victorious more often. As regards previous instances when Australia refused to travel to Sri Lanka for the World Cup in 1996, the situation was very different. Sri Lanka was facing internal trouble because of the LTTE.
In India, at present, there is no such threat. If anything, all venues in India for the ICC T20 World Cup have been cleared for security.
