Bangladesh’s sports adviser has revealed details of an ICC security communication that, he says, outlines unusual conditions tied to Bangladesh’s safety plan for playing 2026 T20 World Cup matches in India.
Asif Nazrul said Bangladesh sent two letters to the ICC raising concerns about touring India for the World Cup. He added that the ICC security team responded with a note warning that the security threat would rise if two things happen: first, if star pacer Mustafizur Rahman is included in Bangladesh’s World Cup squad; and second, if Bangladesh supporters move around in public wearing the national flag or the team jersey.
Nazrul argued that such “triggers” effectively ask Bangladesh to compromise on basic elements of sport, picking its strongest team and allowing fans to wear national colors, just to fulfil fixtures in India. He said this leaves Bangladesh with no workable scenario to play the tournament there under normal conditions.
A third factor was also highlighted in the same warning, Nazrul said: risk would increase as Bangladesh’s national elections get closer. He presented that point as further evidence that the situation is unstable and not something Bangladesh can control for the sake of cricket.
Bangladesh are scheduled to play their first three group matches in Kolkata and their final group match in Mumbai. The issue intensified after India’s cricket board instructed the Kolkata franchise to remove Mustafizur from its IPL 2026 squad amid worsening relations between the two countries, without publicly stating a reason.
Following Mustafizur’s removal, Bangladesh authorities moved to stop the IPL broadcast in the country, and the Bangladesh Cricket Board wrote to the ICC indicating it would not play its T20 World Cup matches in India.
With the standoff widening, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has expressed willingness to host Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches in Pakistan if the fixtures are moved out of India.
The 2026 T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is scheduled to begin on February 7.