[
PRINT
]Bangladesh Faces ICC Ultimatum as BCB Seeks Venue Shift from India for T20 World Cup
by K D Mishra
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam said on Wednesday that Bangladesh can still play in the ICC T20 World Cup if the ICC agrees to move their matches out of India. His statement came just hours after the ICC rejected Bangladesh’s request to change venues. In the voting, all but two members were against Bangladesh’s demand. Even support from the Pakistan Cricket Board did not help their case.
The ICC has now given Bangladesh a final 24-hour deadline. If they do not agree to travel to India for the February 7 to March 8 World Cup, they will be replaced by another team. Scotland is likely to take their place in Group C if Bangladesh pulls out.
Aminul Islam said that,
he is still hoping for a positive change. “Who doesn’t want to play the World Cup?” he said. “We shared all our reasons with the ICC. We did not want it to go to voting, but it happened.”
He also said that the players want to play and the government also wants Bangladesh to take part, but safety remains a concern. “We do not think India is safe for our players. That is why we asked to play in Sri Lanka. We even suggested swapping groups with Ireland or Zimbabwe. But Sri Lanka said they did not want a new team in their group.”
he said that,
After the vote, Aminul asked for one last chance to speak with the government. The ICC gave him 24 to 48 hours to return with a final answer. “The government has to think about more than just cricket. They look at the whole situation,”
Another BCB official said the ICC could still change its mind. He added that both sides have exchanged many emails and held several phone calls to solve the issue. ICC officials also met BCB in Dhaka, but no solution was found.
The problem started after the BCCI asked Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL because of political tensions between India and Bangladesh. After that, the BCB asked for their World Cup matches to be moved out of India. Bangladesh also wanted to swap groups, but Ireland did not agree to this plan.
