- By Himanshu Badola
- Thu, 22 Jan 2026 07:16 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The cricketing world witnessed an interesting day as Bangladesh decided to pull out of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 after the ICC turned down their request to shift their matches from India to Sri Lanka. The T20 WC is scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka and will kick off in February, with the tournament set to have a replacement in Bangladesh's absence.
Over the past few weeks, huge chaos erupted when Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman was removed from the IPL 2026 squad of the Kolkata Knight Riders as per the BCCI's instructions. The big decision was taken amid the political and public uproar following the rise in the killings of Hindus in Bangladesh. Responding to the scenario, the Bangladesh Cricket Board expressed their reluctance to travel to India for the T20 WC before its interim government imposed an indefinite ban on IPL broadcasting.
Turning down BCB's request with a threat to introduce a replacement, the ICC confirmed that the T20 World Cup will go as planned and there won't by any changes made in the schedule of the tournament. Multiple emails were shared between the ICC and BCB, and even a delegation team from the global governing body visited Bangladesh to help them understand. However, upon seeing the BCB standing firm on their stance, the ICC advised them to discuss the final decision with their government while conveying their final verdict after the board meeting.
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Interestingly, the ongoing stand-off between the BCB, ICC and the BCCI is the first instance of a team refusing to play certain venues. Here are five other moments when teams avoided playing an ICC tournament in a host country.
1996 ODI World Cup: Australia, WI refuse to play in SL
Australia and the West Indies refused to travel to Colombo for their 1996 ODI World Cup group matches against Sri Lanka and were made to forfeit points from those games. The scenario took place while the tournament's co-hosts, Sri Lanka, were in the midst of a civil war, and a bomb explosion took place two weeks before the start of the tournament, which heightened security concerns.
Sri Lanka went on to qualify comfortably for the quarter-finals and went on to beat Australia in the final in Lahore.
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2003 ODI World Cup: England skip Zimbabwe; NZ refused Kenya travel
The 2003 ODI World Cup, the first one in Africa co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya, witnessed two instances of teams refusing to play in a host country. England refused to play Zimbabwe in Harare because of the stance of the UK government, headed by Tony Blair, against the Robert Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe.
On the other hand, New Zealand avoided travelling to Nairobi to face Kenya for security reasons. There was a bombing incident that took place in Mombasa a few months earlier.
2009 T20 World Cup: Zimbabwe pulled out
Zimbabwe's players could not get the UK's visas for the 2009 T20 World Cup. While the relations between Mugabe's Zimbabwe and the UK had not improved, the ICC and Zimbabwe reached an agreement they called a "win-win" solution. Zimbabwe pulled out of the tournament "in the larger interest of the game."
2025 Champions Trophy: India say no to Pakistan
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was the first tournament to be played in Pakistan in 29 years. They had been confirmed as hosts in November 2021, but there were always doubts about whether India would travel to Pakistan amid the political tensions between the two countries.
India hadn't played in Pakistan since 2008. Pakistan visited India for the 2023 ODI World Cup and expected the BCCI to return the favour with a reverse trip during the Champions Trophy 2025. Eventually, as the tournament came closer, the BCCI said India would not travel to Pakistan for their Champions Trophy matches, saying it had not received government clearance.
After plenty of back and forth between the two boards and the ICC, all the parties reached an agreement for the 2024-27 period, as per which tournament hosted by India or Pakistan, matches involving the other country would be played at a neutral venue.
India's matches in the 2025 Champions Trophy were played in Dubai and they went on to win the tournament.