The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reiterated its demand for a change of venue for the upcoming T20 World Cup, sending a fresh letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC) amid ongoing security concerns over playing in India.
The ICC’s position remains unchanged: Bangladesh must play its World Cup matches in India or face replacement by Scotland in Group C. However, following a meeting with national team players on Thursday, Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul confirmed that Bangladesh will not travel to India, in line with a firm government decision.
While the ICC has yet to issue an official response, a BCB director confirmed to Times of Bangladesh that the board emailed the ICC again on Thursday night, formally restating its request for a venue shift.
On Wednesday, the ICC gave the BCB a 24-hour deadline to communicate its final stance on World Cup participation. A decisive meeting was held the following day at 3:00 pm at the InterContinental Hotel in Dhaka, attended by national cricketers, senior board officials and the secretary of the National Sports Council.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Asif Nazrul made it clear that the government’s position would not change.
“There is no scope for changing our decision,” he said.
In its latest correspondence, the BCB has requested that its demand for a venue change be referred to the ICC’s independent Dispute Resolution Committee. In cases of contested decisions, the committee’s independent legal experts are tasked with reviewing submissions and recommending possible legal remedies.
BCB officials remain hopeful that the ICC will forward the request to the committee and consider a resolution, despite the firm stance taken so far by the global governing body.
Reiterating the rationale behind the decision, Asif Nazrul stressed that the issue of security lies solely with the government.
“Let me be absolutely clear: the decision not to play the World Cup in India, considering the security risk, is a decision of our government,” he said.
“Whether a country’s citizens are safe when travelling to another country is for the government to determine. No one else has the authority to decide that.”
