POBNEWS24, Dhaka, Jan10, 2026 : Bangladesh has requested the ICC to host some T20 World Cup 2026 matches instead of India in Sri Lanka. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally broken its silence on the matter. However, they have said that the BCCI does not have the power to take the final decision. The decision can be taken by the ICC, the highest governing body of cricket.
The incident began when the BCCI ordered the exclusion of pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the team due to pressure from the country’s Hindutva activists, who claimed that minorities were being killed and tortured in Bangladesh. Later, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) released Mustafizur from the team as per that order. After that, the Bangladesh government and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) requested the ICC to shift the matches to Sri Lanka instead of India for security reasons. Although the ICC and BCB are still discussing via email, no final decision has been made yet. The time pressure has already increased as the tournament begins on February 7.
After a BCCI meeting in Mumbai, India on Friday, press secretary Debjit Saikia told news agency PTI, “The matter is not under the jurisdiction of the BCCI.” He said, “The meeting was about coordination of events and other cricket matters. The final decision on Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup is in the hands of the ICC.”
The T20 World Cup 2026 will be held from February 7 to March 8 at eight venues in India and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh is in Group C with England, West Indies, Nepal and Italy. Bangladesh’s first three matches are against the West Indies. Besides, the matches against England and Italy will be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The match against Nepal will be held at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The BCB said in an official statement that the Jay Shah-led ICC has assured them that they will do their best to address Bangladesh’s concerns. The ICC said it will work closely with the BCB to ensure Bangladesh’s full and uninterrupted participation in the tournament. The board’s views will also be duly considered as part of the security plan.
The statement further said that the security and all concerns of the Bangladesh team will be taken into consideration and the ICC will take all necessary steps to ensure their participation in the tournament.
Bangladesh team currently lacks world-class players: Moeen Ali
Meanwhile, English cricketer Moeen Ali will face the media on Saturday for Sylhet Titans in this edition of the BPL.
Regarding the main difference between the current and past Bangladesh cricket team, Moeen Ali said that while there were some world-class players in the previous team, there is a lack of players of that quality now.
Moeen said, ‘I think there were maybe two or three world-class players before, like Tamim, Shakib. They were big players. Not only were they world-class players, but their character was also very good. They were fighters, and the way they played, they were quality players. It was a great fortune for Bangladesh to have these two for a long time.’
Moin Ali painted a slightly different picture regarding the current team, saying, ‘Now I think there are many good players, but there are no players at that level. That is the main problem so far. I mean, there are many good players at a certain level, but at the moment there are no world-class players.’
