After the ICC confirmed that the Men’s T20 World Cup will proceed as planned, Bangladesh’s Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul expressed dissatisfaction, stating that they will not change their decision to not play in India. Nazrul mentioned that they will propose playing in Sri Lanka instead, criticizing the ICC for giving a 24-hour ultimatum and emphasizing that the decision will impact millions of viewers.
Bangladesh had raised security concerns and requested to relocate their matches to Sri Lanka due to strained relations with India. Despite this, the ICC reaffirmed that the tournament will continue as scheduled, with Bangladesh’s matches set to be held in India. The ICC Board cited the impracticality of changing plans last minute and the importance of maintaining the integrity and neutrality of future events.
Nazrul reiterated that their security concerns were based on real incidents and not unfounded fears. The ICC Board emphasized the need to uphold the tournament schedule without credible security threats to avoid setting a precedent that could compromise the organization’s neutrality and future events.
