Dhaka: Bangladesh government’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul Tuesday reiterated that under no condition would the national team travel to India for the T20 World Cup, despite an ultimatum from the International Cricket Council to the Bangladesh Cricket Board on deciding their participation by January 21.
If BCB remains adamant on not travelling to India for the 20-team tournament, Scotland is likely to replace Bangladesh as per the current rankings.
“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,” Nazrul told 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 crisis was triggered by the removal of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from Kolkata Knight Riders’ roster for this year’s Indian Premier League on BCCI’s instructions for unspecified “developments all around”.
Citing security concerns and national pride, the BCB responded by announcing its national team won’t travel to India for its group stage games in Kolkata and Mumbai.
BCB wants to play each of the four group stage matches in Sri Lanka, where the marquee India-Pakistan clash will also be held as per the mutually agreed arrangement for ICC events until 2027.
Bangladesh are currently placed in Group C along with the West Indies, Italy, England, and Nepal.
In their last meeting with ICC officials in Dhaka, the BCB had proposed swapping positions with Ireland in Group B, which features tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Oman and Zimbabwe.
Such a move would allow Bangladesh to remain in Sri Lanka for the entirety of its group stage engagements.
While the BCB considers it unsafe for its players to travel to India, the ICC’s risk assessment report did not flag any specific or direct threat to the team’s participation in the World Cup.
The bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have deteriorated in recent months, exacerbated by the killings of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal and current Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto have cautioned against a very hard-line approach on the controversial subject, with the former saying that decisions taken today would have repercussions 10 years down the line.
PTI
