T20 World Cup 2026: The International Cricket Council (ICC), reportedly, has rejected BCB's (Bangladesh Cricket Board) request to move their T20 World Cup matches out of India, who are co-hosting the tournament along with Sri Lanka. As per the report by Cricbuzz, the international governing body based in Dubai found no threat to players' security in India, contradicting BCB's stance.
As per a report from Cricbuzz, the same was communicated to BCB officials, who wanted to shift all the matches out of India. On January 4, the Bangladesh Cricket Board, in a letter to ICC, asked them to “safeguard the safety and well-being of Bangladeshi players, team officials, Board members and other stakeholders. Sensing a logistical nightmare, ICC is unlikely to alter the schedule as the tournament starts in a month.
Also, a formal hearing is expected to take place before January 10 to resolve the issue raised by BCB.
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In another report by ESPNcricinfo, a virtual call took place between ICC and BCB officials in which the request was rejected by the former. The report further added that the ICC has communicated to the board that their senior men's national cricket team will need to travel to India to play their T20 World Cup matches or risk forfeiting points.
It is worth noting that no official statement has been issued by BCB or ICC on the outcome of Tuesday's call, which was arranged after BCB wrote in on Sunday, asking to consider moving Bangladesh's matches to Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup 2026.
Bangladesh are scheduled to open their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign on February 7 against two-time champions West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After the West Indies, Bangladesh will face Italy on February 9 at the same venue, then face the 2022 T20 World Cup champions, England, in Kolkata again.
After facing England, Bangladesh are scheduled to travel to Mumbai to play Nepal at Wankhede Stadium. The World Cup event will start on February 7 with a match between Pakistan and the Netherlands at Colombo.
Inputs from Agency