Bangladesh Sports Adviser Claims ICC Security Team Backs India Safety Concerns for T20 World Cup 2026

Bangladesh’s sports adviser to the government, Asif Nazrul, has stated that the security delegation of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has sent a letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), stating that the Bangladesh team should not go to India for the T20 World Cup in 2026 due to security reasons.

Bangladesh raises ICC security concerns ahead of T20 World Cup 2026 in India

BCB had written twice to the ICC about moving their group stage matches from Kolkata and Mumbai to elsewhere outside of India. They had not received any response from the ICC about this issue until now.

 Nazrul said that,

“We have sent two letters (to the ICC), after which the ICC security team has sent a letter. They have said that if three things happen, the security threat to the Bangladesh team (in India) will increase. One, if Mustafiz (Mustafizur Rahman) is included in the Bangladesh team. Two, if the supporters of the Bangladesh team roam around in the national jersey of Bangladesh, which is our national jersey. Three, the security threat of the Bangladesh team will increase as the (Bangladesh) elections approach,”

The sports advisor of Bangladesh said that “if ICC can ensure them that Mustafizur Rahman, who was taken out of the Indian Premiere League by the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI), would be available for their selection and their supporters would be able to travel to India without any fear of their safety, then BCB would send their team to India.”

He added

“So this statement of the ICC security team has proven beyond a doubt that there is no situation for the Bangladesh cricket team to play the T20 World Cup in India. If the ICC expects us to make a cricket team without our best bowler, our supporters will not be able to wear the Bangladesh jersey, and we will postpone the Bangladesh elections to play cricket, then there can be no more bizarre, unrealistic and unreasonable expectation than this,”

However, as per NDTV, there has been no confirmation by the ICC about writing a letter to the BCB. The letter written by the security team was included in an inter-departmental note and must not be seen as a formal response to the BCB’s request for the Bangladesh T20 World Cup matches shift. It has already been mentioned that ICC isn’t impressed with the BCB's claim of fear of safety in India, as a number of international events in the past were successfully hosted there without any problems. ICC might react to BCB’s demand on Tuesday, January 13.

T20 World Cup 2026: Bangladesh Schedule

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