There is still suspense over Bangladesh playing the T20 World Cup 2026 in India, but what happened in the ICC and BCB meeting suggests that Bangladesh may be forced to play the T20 World Cup in India.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had appealed to the ICC to hold all of its matches in Sri Lanka instead of India during the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Bangladesh cited security reasons for this request. However, the ICC has outright rejected Bangladesh’s demand.
T20 World Cup 2026: ICC showed Bangladesh its proper place; ICC outright rejected Bangladesh’s demand
The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is now just a few days away from beginning. The tournament will start on 7 February. In the meantime, differences between the BCCI and the BCB have intensified, and relations between the two cricket boards are no longer cordial. The relationship between the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the BCCI has traditionally been good, but differences have now increased between the two.
Since the BCB refused to come to India to play in the T20 World Cup 2026 and demanded that its matches be shifted to Sri Lanka, the controversy has intensified. Now, the ICC has broken its silence on the matter.
BCB had Written a Letter to the ICC Requesting a Change of Venue
For the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, the BCB had refused to come to India to play, citing security reasons, and wrote to the ICC asking that their matches be shifted to Sri Lanka, similar to Pakistan. However, at that time, the ICC said it was considering the BCB’s request.
The reason behind the deterioration of relations between Bangladesh and India is the release of Bangladeshi fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from IPL 2026. Mustafizur Rahman was bought by KKR for ₹9.20 crore. However, after reports of atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh, the BCCI, like it did with Pakistan, also banned Bangladeshi players. This is where the controversy began.
ICC Gave This Response to the Bangladesh Cricket Board
ICC has delivered a blow to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, which was already expected. Changing the venue just one month before the tournament would be difficult. For this reason, the ICC has made this decision. According to ESPN Cric info, the ICC told the BCB that…
“On Tuesday, a virtual meeting was held between ICC and BCB officials. In this meeting, the ICC made it clear that there will be no change in the match venues. The ICC told the BCB in no uncertain terms that Bangladesh’s senior men’s team will have to visit India to play their scheduled matches. If the team does not comply, it will face a loss of points.”
It is now clear that the Bangladesh Cricket Board will have to send its team to India. Bangladesh is scheduled to play its three league matches at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, while the final match will be played in Mumbai.
Play the Matches, or You Won’t Get Any Points!
In this meeting, the ICC also made it clear that Bangladesh’s senior men’s cricket team will have to come to India to play the T20 World Cup matches. If the team does not comply, it may lose points for these matches.
However, regarding this meeting, no official statement has been released yet by either the ICC or the BCB. The meeting was called because the BCB had written a letter on Sunday requesting that Bangladesh’s matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup be held in Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh Match Schedule
Bangladesh will play its first T20 World Cup 2026 match on 7 February against two-time champions West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After that, on 9 February, they will play against Italy at the same venue. Then, Bangladesh will also face the 2022 T20 World Cup champions England in Kolkata.
After the match against England, Bangladesh’s team will travel to Mumbai, where they will face Nepal at Wankhede Stadium. The T20 World Cup will begin on 7 February with the match between Pakistan and the Netherlands in Colombo.
