The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s proposal to move their Twenty20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka was denied by the International Cricket Council.
According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, the ICC told the Bangladesh Cricket Board during a video call on Tuesday that it was rejecting the latter’s request to move Bangladesh’s matches outside of India because of security concerns.
The ICC has cautioned Bangladesh that failing to travel to India for their matches could result in them losing points, according to the report.
Both the BCB and the ICC have not yet released an official statement regarding the outcome of Tuesday’s call, which was set up after BCB wrote to the governing body on Sunday requesting that Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures be moved to Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign will begin on February 7 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata against the two-time champions West Indies. Following the West Indies, Bangladesh will play Italy on February 9 at the same venue before returning to Kolkata to play England, the 2022 T20 World Cup winners.
Bangladesh will travel to Mumbai to play Nepal at Wankhede Stadium following their match against England. On February 7, Pakistan and the Netherlands will play in Colombo to kick off the World Cup.
According to a BCB news release, the BCB had formally asked the ICC to move Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches to locations outside of India, citing “safety and security” concerns for Bangladesh players.
Due to “growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent,” the BCB announced that the squad will not travel to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
In response to a decision from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding atrocities committed against minorities in Bangladesh, the Kolkata Knight Riders announced that they had removed Bangladesh pacer Muztafizur Rahman off their IPL 2026 squad.
Following the announcement by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia that the Board had directed the IPL team to release Rahman “due to the recent developments,” KKR made their decision.
