Bangladesh Players "Not Safe" in India: BCB President as ICC Rejects Venue Shift Plea

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president, Aminul Islam, said that the board felt it was “not safe” for the team to play in India at present and preferred Sri Lanka as an alternative venue. This was after the International Cricket Council (ICC) reaffirmed that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be held as per schedule, with Bangladesh’s fixtures remaining in India, despite Bangladesh’s reservations over playing in the host country.

The matter was discussed during an ICC Board meeting held via video conference on Wednesday, convened after the BCB requested that Bangladesh’s matches be shifted to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns. 

However, the ICC said the decision to retain the fixtures in India was taken after reviewing multiple security assessments, including independent evaluations, all of which concluded that there was no credible threat to the safety of Bangladesh players, officials, media personnel or fans at any of the tournament venues.

The ICC Board observed that making venue changes so close to the start of the tournament was not feasible and warned that altering the schedule without substantiated security risks could set an unhealthy precedent, potentially affecting the integrity and neutrality of future ICC events.

In a statement, an ICC spokesperson said the governing body had been in sustained and constructive engagement with the BCB for several weeks, sharing detailed security plans, independent assessments and formal assurances from Indian authorities, including layered federal and state-level law enforcement arrangements. All inputs, the ICC said, consistently indicated that adequate security was in place.

The ICC also noted that the BCB continued to link its participation to an isolated and unrelated issue involving one of its players in a domestic league, a factor the ICC said had no connection to the tournament’s security framework or participation conditions.

Reiterating its position, the ICC said venue and scheduling decisions are based on objective threat assessments, host guarantees and agreed participation terms applicable to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent findings indicating a material security risk, the ICC said it could not relocate Bangladesh’s matches, citing significant logistical challenges and the risk of undermining governance standards.

The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7. Bangladesh are set to begin their campaign on the opening day against two-time champions West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. They will then play Italy on February 9 at the same venue, followed by a match against England in Kolkata, before travelling to Mumbai to face Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium.

BCB officials said the board would convey its final decision to the ICC after consultations with the Bangladesh government on Thursday.