Bangladesh rules out playing T20 World Cup in India, urges ICC to moves matches to Sri Lanka

Bangladesh will not reverse its decision to skip the T20 World Cup in India, youth and sports advisor Asif Nazrul had reiterated.

Speaking at a briefing at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka on Thursday, Nazrul said there was “no scope” for Bangladesh to step back from its position.

“We strongly want to play the World Cup, and we want to do it in Sri Lanka,” he said. “We firmly believe that hosting the matches there is not impossible.”

Nazrul added that a delegation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) has visited Dhaka to hold discussions on Bangladesh’s participation should the tournament be held in India.

The standoff follows the exclusion of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Indian media reports have also pointed to rising resentment in India amid recent incidents of violence against Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the IPL franchise, was instructed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India to release Mustafizur, who had been signed for 92 million rupees.

The move triggered strong reactions in Bangladesh.

That night, Nazrul posted on Facebook that he did not consider it safe for the national team to travel to India for the World Cup.

He also urged the information and broadcasting advisor to halt IPL broadcasts in Bangladesh.

Following this, the information ministry ordered all IPL matches and related programmes to remain off-air in Bangladesh from Jan 5 until further notice.

Citing security concerns, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) formally informed the ICC that the national team would not travel to India and requested that its matches be held elsewhere.

On Thursday, Nazrul reaffirmed that Bangladesh remains keen to play the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.