The Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) has unequivocally dismissed claims of a selected safety menace to the Bangladesh nationwide cricket group in India, reinforcing that the T20 World Cup 2026 schedule stays unchanged.
In accordance with an ESPNcricinfo report, the ICC has shared a safety evaluation with Bangladesh, stating that there isn’t any particular or heightened menace to their cricket group in India for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The evaluation, an inside one, was shared with the BCB’s safety group and concluded there was no total menace to the facet, however pointed to low to average dangers in some venues and low to nil in others – commonplace ICC categorizations world wide that don’t ordinarily represent ample cause to relocate matches.
The Dispute: ‘Particular Threats’ Vs Routine Assessments
The safety evaluation particulars, which have been shared with the BCB final week, got here to gentle after Bangladesh’s sports activities advisor Asif Nazrul claimed earlier on Monday that the ICC’s report highlighted the challenges of Bangladesh taking part in their 2026 T20 World Cup matches in India.
“We now have despatched two letters (to the ICC), after which the ICC safety group have despatched a letter,” Nazrul, successfully the nation’s sports activities head, mentioned on Monday.
Nazrul mentioned three elements have been cited with potential safety implications:
1. The inclusion of star pacer Mustafizur Rahman within the squad.
2. Supporters sporting the Bangladesh nationwide jersey in public.
3. Heightened dangers on account of upcoming elections in Bangladesh.
“So this assertion of the ICC safety group has confirmed past a doubt that there isn’t any scenario for the Bangladesh cricket group to play the T20 World Cup in India. If the ICC expects us to make a cricket group with out our greatest bowler, our supporters will be unable to put on the Bangladesh jersey, and we are going to postpone the Bangladesh elections to play cricket, then there could be no more odd, unrealistic and unreasonable expectation than this,” he mentioned.
Nevertheless, ICC’s stance on the matter stays the identical for now; that’s that the match schedule has been finalized and made public and that each one collaborating groups are anticipated to satisfy their obligations beneath the phrases of participation of ICC occasions, as per ESPNcricinfo report.
Background: The Mustafizur Rahman Row And Matches Of Bangladesh At Indian Venues
Bangladesh are at the moment scheduled to play their first three group matches in Kolkata and the ultimate one in Mumbai.
Notably, tensions between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the BCCI escalated earlier this month after the Indian cricket board directed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to launch Mustafizur Rahman from his IPL contract.
In response, the Bangladesh authorities banned the printed of the IPL within the nation, and the BCB had formally requested the ICC to shift their World Cup matches from India to co-host Sri Lanka, amid the deteriorating relations between two international locations.
The 2026 T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is scheduled to start on February 7 and the ICC is unlikely to simply accept venue modifications primarily based on the present low-risk analysis.