Bangladesh won’t travel to India for T20 World Cup

The Bangladesh cricket team will not travel to India to play in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul told journalists after a meeting with the players and officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) today (22 January).

He said the decision not to take part in the World Cup is a government decision. 

To hear the views of the players of the squad regarding participation in the T20 World Cup, Nazrul and BCB officials held a meeting today at the InterContinental Dhaka. Journalists and cricket fans across the country were waiting to learn the outcome of the meeting.

Speaking to the media, the adviser said the decision not to travel to India due to security concerns remains unchanged.

He said, "There is no separate country called the ICC [International Cricket Council]. The country where the Indian cricket board is an expanding part of the government has failed to ensure the security of our cricketers under pressure from extremists. The tournament is being held in that very country.

"The responsibility for our players' security would lie with that country's security forces and police. The ICC has made no effort to satisfy us regarding this security issue."

"Instead," the sports adviser continued, "the ICC has only held discussions about the security concern. Even the Indian government made no attempt to reassure us by saying that what happened to Mustafizur was an isolated incident, or by expressing regret, or by outlining any steps being taken to ensure the safety of our spectators, journalists or cricketers."

"Therefore, there is no scope to change our decision," he said.

On 3 January, Kolkata Knight Riders dropped Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL squad even after securing his services for Rs9.20 crore after an intense bidding war in December . 

Questions were raised at the time about how security could be ensured for the large Bangladesh team if the safety of even one cricketer could not be guaranteed. Asif Nazrul referred to the issue again today.

The sports adviser said, "The security risk we are concerned about is not based on any hypothetical analysis or assumption. It is based on a real incident, where one of our country's top cricketers was forced out by the Board of Control for Cricket in India [BCCI] under pressure from extremists.

"After that incident, what has changed that would ensure there will be no further extremist threats in India? If India could not provide security to Mustafizur, how will it ensure the safety of our cricketers, journalists and spectators? On what basis are we supposed to feel satisfied?"

Over the past three weeks, the BCB has exchanged letters with the ICC. Video conferences have been held, and an ICC delegation has visited for meetings. However, Nazrul claimed that there has been no change in the security situation despite all the discussions.

He said, "Today, we met with our cricketers. I sat with them, along with the board's President Aminul Islam Bulbul, senior board official Fahim, and our secretary. Many players, including Litton, Miraz, Najmul, and Sohan, were present.

"Everyone is passionate. Naturally, we all wanted to play in the T20 World Cup. Our cricketers earned this opportunity through hard work. But the security risks involved in playing in India remain unchanged."

At yesterday's (21 January) virtual ICC meeting, it was decided that Bangladesh must either play in India or boycott the World Cup. Following the meeting, the ICC gave the BCB a one-day ultimatum to confirm its final decision.

According to a responsible BCB source, a vote was held among 12 full members and two associate members, which Bangladesh lost by 12-2. Bangladesh received only Pakistan's vote.

After the ICC meeting, BCB policymakers met with Asif Nazrul late last night. The sports adviser said he hopes the ICC will make arrangements to relocate Bangladesh's matches to Sri Lanka.  

BCB President Bulbul also told reporters that the board would contact the ICC again to press its position. "We do not want to play in India. We want to play in Sri Lanka," he said.