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Bangladesh are unwilling to travel to India to play in the upcoming World Cup and have formally conveyed their position to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has said.
Following this, discussions emerged over a possible group swap between Bangladesh and Ireland.
However, the ICC has assured Ireland that all of their group-stage matches will be held in Sri Lanka. The cricket news website Cricbuzz reported the development.
A Cricket Ireland official said in a statement, “We have received firm assurances that we will not be moved from our original schedule. We will be playing our group-stage matches in Sri Lanka.”
In the forthcoming T20 World Cup, Ireland are placed in Group C alongside co-host Sri Lanka, Australia, Zimbabwe and Oman.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh, who have declined to travel to India over security concerns, are placed in Group B along with West Indies, England, Nepal and Italy. The matches in this group are scheduled to be held in Kolkata and Mumbai.
A meeting between ICC and BCB officials took place in Dhaka on Saturday, where the proposal for a group change was raised. In a statement, the BCB said, “Among other issues, the possibility of moving Bangladesh to another group involving minimal logistical changes was discussed.”
Although a proposal was made to swap groups with Ireland, it was not accepted by either the ICC or Cricket Ireland.