Asif Nazrul, the sports advisor for the Bangladeshi government, reaffirmed on Tuesday that the national squad would not travel to India for the T20 World Cup, even though the International Cricket Council had given the Bangladesh Cricket Board until January 21 to decide whether or not to participate.
According to the current rankings, Scotland will probably take Bangladesh’s place if the BCB is determined not to travel to India for the 20-team competition.
“I am not aware that Scotland will be included in our place. If the ICC bows to pressure from the Indian Cricket Board and tries to impose pressure on us by setting unreasonable conditions, we will not accept those conditions,” a PTI report quoted Nazrul telling reporters.
“In the past, there are examples that Pakistan said that they will not travel to India and ICC changed the venue. We have asked to change the venue on logical ground and we cannot be pressurised to play in India by putting illogical pressure,” he added.
The BCCI’s directive to remove Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman off the Kolkata Knight Riders’ squad for this year’s Indian Premier League due to vague “developments all around” set off the crisis.
The BCB responded by declaring that its national team would not travel to India for its group stage matches in Kolkata and Mumbai, citing security concerns and national pride.
As per the mutually agreed agreement for ICC tournaments till 2027, BCB intends to play all four of the group stage matches in Sri Lanka, where the marquee India-Pakistan match will also take place. As of right now, Bangladesh is grouped with the West Indies, Italy, England, and Nepal in Group C.
The BCB had suggested switching places with Ireland in Group B, which includes tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Oman, and Zimbabwe, during their last meeting with ICC officials in Dhaka. Bangladesh would be able to stay in Sri Lanka for the whole of its group stage matches if this happens.
The ICC’s risk assessment study did not identify any particular or direct threat to the team’s World Cup participation, despite the BCB’s belief that it is risky for its players to travel to India. The murders of Hindus in Bangladesh have made the bilateral ties between India and Bangladesh worse in recent months.
Both former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal and current Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto have warned against taking a very strict stance on the contentious issue, with the former stating that actions made now will have consequences ten years later.
