The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that Bangladesh’s matches at the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup will go ahead in India, following an ICC Board meeting convened via video conference to address Bangladesh’s request to relocate its fixtures to Sri Lanka.
According to a source within the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the voting at the Board meeting was split: Bangladesh received two votes in favour of playing its matches outside India—one from Pakistan and one from its own vote—but the majority of the ICC Board opted to maintain the original schedule.
The dispute stems from Bangladesh’s refusal to travel to India over security concerns linked to political and social tensions, including the earlier controversy involving Mustafizur Rahman being dropped from the IPL 2026 squad. Following this, the BCB formally requested the ICC to move Bangladesh’s World Cup matches to a neutral venue, with Sri Lanka being suggested as an alternative. Pakistan’s cricket board (PCB) also expressed support for Bangladesh’s stance, reportedly warning that it might reconsider its own participation if Bangladesh’s request was ignored.
Despite repeated discussions and exchanges of detailed security information between the ICC and BCB, no resolution was reached. The ICC emphasised that altering the tournament schedule at this stage would be logistically challenging, could impact other teams and fans, and might set a precedent undermining the neutrality of future ICC events.
The ICC issued an official press release confirming the decision, stating that all security assessments, including independent reviews, concluded there was no threat to Bangladesh players, officials, media personnel, or fans at the Indian venues. The statement clarified that BCB’s repeated linkage of participation to a domestic league matter involving a single player was “irrelevant to tournament security.”
“Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue,” the release said. “Venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and the tournament’s agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations. Relocating Bangladesh’s fixtures would carry significant logistical and scheduling consequences and create precedent-related challenges that could undermine ICC governance.”
