The Bangladesh Cricket Board’s sudden demand to shift their scheduled matches out of India, with just one month left for the ICC T20 World Cup, has posed several logistical challenges in front of the ICC, and they have urged the BCB to reconsider their decision.
After BCCI’s controversial decision to issue a directive for the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman ahead of the IPL season, following some political and social conflicts in the country, the BCB, in response, decided not to travel to India for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
They formally demanded a change in venue from India to Sri Lanka for their matches in the upcoming tournament and cited security concerns for their players, team management, media persons and also their spectators in India.
ICC denies venue shift to BCB with just one month left for the ICC T20 World Cup
The ICC has held several meetings in both Mumbai and Dubai, alongside the officials from the BCCI and the BCB, ever since they received the formal request from the Bangladesh Cricket Board asking for the change in venues.
With just a month left for the ICC T20 World Cup, the ICC would be facing a major logistical challenge if Bangladesh games were to be relocated to Sri Lanka from their initial venues in India. Hence, the ICC has asked the BCB to reconsider their decision, and under such clauses, they are open to making minor tweaks as well as promising top-level security if they agree to play their games in India.
BCB would, however, only revert after having discussions with their government, as per reports in The Telegraph. However, the ICC is preparing a Plan B to address any eventuality.
ICC to play mediator to solve BCCI-BCB conflict
During their meeting in Mumbai and in Dubai, the ICC has already made several attempts to resolve the issues between the two boards BCCI and the BCB. If the Bangladesh Cricket Board does not agree on their terms, one way for the ICC is to act as a mediator between the two boards that are currently having a conflict.
To ensure the security developments in India, the ICC might give a reference to the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 to the Bangladesh team. In the tournament three years ago, Pakistan, despite their political tensions with India, travelled to the country and played a healthy tournament without any outbreak of controversies.
They have been placed alongside England, the West Indies, Nepal, and Italy in the same group and are scheduled to play three of their four matches at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and only one of their matches in Mumbai.
“ICC will try to coax and convince Bangladesh to play in India”
The ICC events team is well aware that the schedule changes would not only affect the group stage games but also the next Super-8 stage if Bangladesh make their way into the next stage. The ticket sales are also live, and Bangladesh’s rigidity would make the situation very complex.
“ICC will try to coax and convince Bangladesh to play in India. It isn’t just about the two teams, it also involves the spectators and fans, broadcasters, and travelling media,” a veteran ICC administrator was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.
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