Bangladesh will not play the T20 World Cup in India, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) reiterated on Wednesday, following a meeting with Youth and Sports Adviser Dr. Asif Nazrul.
The BCB had earlier informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) directly of its decision not to participate in the tournament on Indian soil. BCB officials met with Dr. Nazrul at the secretariat to discuss the issue, and all parties remained firm on the decision. The board also raised again the matter of communicating with the ICC regarding security concerns in India.
The meeting, held at 4pm, was attended by BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul, Director Faruk Ahmed, and several other board directors.
After the meeting, Bulbul told journalists: “Bangladesh is firm on not going to play the T20 World Cup in India. A letter will be sent to the ICC again today or tomorrow.”
Asif Nazrul also spoke to the media, saying: “On the matter of our cricketers’ safety, Bangladesh’s safety, and Bangladesh’s dignity—we will not make any compromise. We want to play cricket, we want to play in the World Cup. Another host country is Sri Lanka; we want to play there.”
He emphasized Bangladesh’s stance on not playing in India, saying: “In this position (of not playing in India) we are firm. We hope we will be able to make the ICC understand this. The ICC will consider our arguments impartially and will give us the opportunity to play in the T20 World Cup that we have worked hard to achieve.”