Top officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) held a high-level meeting on Wednesday to discuss their stance on not playing the T20 World Cup matches in India. BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul and Bangladesh Government Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul were present at the meeting. It was decided that Bangladesh would attempt to persuade the ICC to move its T20 World Cup matches to Sri Lanka. Bangladesh is scheduled to play four T20 World Cup group stage matches in India (three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai). The controversy over the venue arose after Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was excluded from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

Bangladesh remains adamant.

On the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Kolkata Knight Riders dropped the experienced fast bowler from the team, angering the Bangladesh government and its cricket board. On Tuesday, the ICC sent a letter to the Bangladesh Cricket Board requesting a change in venue. The BCB claimed, "In its letter, the ICC reiterated its commitment to ensuring the Bangladesh team's full and uninterrupted participation in the tournament." However, several media reports indicated that the ICC rejected Bangladesh's demand, stating that it saw no security concerns in India. A high-level meeting was held in Bangladesh after the ICC's refusal.

Nazrul threatened to withdraw from the World Cup.

In Wednesday's meeting, Nazrul reiterated Bangladesh's stance of not wanting to play in India. Nazrul said, "We do not want to play the T20 World Cup at the expense of our country's honor or the safety of our players and journalists. Reading the letter from the ICC, we believe there are serious security concerns for Bangladeshi cricketers in India. The BCCI itself is telling the Kolkata Knight Riders team that they are unable to provide security to this player (Mustafizur Rahman), so they should remove him from the team. This is a tacit acknowledgement of security concerns in India. We want to play the World Cup, but in Sri Lanka. We remain firm on this stance." I hope we will be able to explain our concerns to the ICC. I hope the ICC will listen to our concerns fairly.

The World Cup is being held in a hybrid model anyway.

He was then asked about the possibility of Bangladesh being granted walkovers in their matches in India. Nazrul did not give a clear answer to this question. He said, "Our main objective is to convince the ICC that we are not in a position to play in India. We will respond to the ICC soon." BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul said that further talks with the ICC would take place soon. He said, "We will fight for our rights. We are giving a valid reason. We will explain to the ICC. We have to understand that the T20 World Cup is being played in a hybrid model for security reasons."