A two-person ICC delegation will arrive in Dhaka on Saturday in an attempt to end the impasse over Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup in India next month. The team has already stated that a venue change is not feasible.
Under the guise of a supposed security risk to its players, Bangladesh has been requesting that the international governing body move its World Cup matches, which are set to take place in Kolkata and Mumbai.
After Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was suddenly released from his IPL contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders due to a BCCI decision, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) made this demand.
“Yes, that’s the information (ICC officials’ visit to Dhaka) at the moment. Discussions are going on at the moment, and all possible ways to handle the situation will be discussed. We expect Bangladesh government officials to also take part in the talks,” a PTI report quoted a source privy to the development as saying on conditions of anonymity.
He claimed that during a recent video conference, the BCB had already expressed its concerns to the ICC, especially on playing in Mumbai. On February 17, Bangladesh are scheduled to play their last Group C game against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium.
However, the board notified the ICC that comments made by a few Mumbai-based Indian politicians would pose a risk to the security of its players. The BCB source stated that the parley, which could be held in the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka, will consider the option of moving the matches to a different Indian city, perhaps in the southern regions, or to Sri Lanka.
It has been revealed, however, that the ICC was adamant that such speculative situations could not be seen as a compelling justification for changing the locations of games. The ICC had rated the threat perception as low to moderate in its own security evaluation of the marquee event, which is typical for such occasions.
It has been learned that the Bangladeshi team would bring up Mustafizur’s exclusion from the IPL once more to support its allegations of security risks to its players in India, as well as the current wave of anti-Bangladeshi demonstrations across the nation.
However, the ICC is unlikely to reconsider its position that last-minute venue changes will create an undesirable precedent and that other member countries may also make such requests in the future, which may seriously jeopardize an already-published schedule.
Additionally, the governing body will make an effort to persuade Bangladesh of the strict security protocols that will be implemented throughout the World Cup.
