After the International Cricket Council gave its ultimatum to the Bangladesh Cricket Board for its participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Aminul Islam Bulbul, BCB president confirms Bangladesh will not play in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India. Basically, the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 will begin on 7th February and end on the 8th of March. India and Sri Lanka will be the hosts.
Basically, the International Cricket Council gave its ultimatum to the Bangladesh Cricket Board on 21st of January to decide their participation in the competition within 24 hours or else their place would be given to Scotland. This would mean that Scotland would get a chance to feature in the competition in place of Bangladesh.
Also check out: ICC gives BCB 24 hours to decide whether to play or not: Who can replace Bangladesh if they opt out?
BCB president confirms Bangladesh will not play in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India
Despite trying all possible things to make Bangladesh play their matches of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India, the ICC has finally received the news from the Bangladesh Cricket Board that they stand firm with their decision and will not travel to India to play their matches of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India. On Thursday (23rd January), Bangladesh refused to travel to India for the tenth edition of the World Cup.
Bangladesh has been placed in Group C alongside England, Italy, Nepal, and the West Indies for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. While the group appears relatively manageable on paper, encounters against England and the West Indies are expected to pose significant challenges. Bangladesh will begin their campaign against the West Indies in the second match on the opening day of the tournament, with Eden Gardens in Kolkata set to host the fixture.
We will continue to communicate with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we won’t play in India. We will keep fighting. There were some shocking calls in the ICC Board Meeting. The Mustafizur issue is not an isolated single issue. They (India) were the sole decision makers in that issue
ICC had denied us our request to shift our matches away from India. We are not sure about the status of world cricket. Its popularity is going down. They have locked away 200 million people. Cricket is going to the Olympics, but if a country like us is not going there, it is ICC’s failure
Eventually, the Bangladesh Cricket Board president shared his desire for his players to play at such a big stage and not want to miss any opportunity. He also spoke about how they will continue to talk to ICC, but the decision is final that they won’t be playing in India for sure. The president also spoke about a sport like cricket going to the Olympics, and a team like Bangladesh not playing is the ICC’s failure.