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Bangladesh’s place at next month’s T20 World Cup is in jeopardy after the nation’s cricket board reaffirmed its plea to move matches from India to Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh asked for their games to be switched from India citing safety concerns amid growing tensions between the countries, and demanded to play them in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament, instead.
On Wednesday the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Bangladesh’s request, saying there was an “absence of any credible security threat”.
The ICC gave the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) 24 hours to speak to its government and make a decision.
“Our only demand is to play the World Cup – but not in India,” said BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul.
“We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka.
“They did give us a 24-hour ultimatum but a global body can’t really do that. ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss.”
Scotland, as the highest-ranked nation that did not qualify outright for the World Cup, could be handed a late route into the competition if the ICC replaces Bangladesh.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, runs from 7 February to 8 March.
Bangladesh are due to three of their four group games in Kolkata, including against England on 14 February, and the other in Mumbai.
“There is no scope for changing our decision,” said Asif Nazrul, an adviser for youth and sports issues in Bangladesh’s interim government.
“It is crucial to weigh the loss of not playing against the potential catastrophe of pushing players, fans and journalists into a risky regional political situation.
“This is a government decision, as the state is responsible for determining whether its citizens face security risks abroad.”
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16 August 2025
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