T20 World Cup: ICC hands ultimatum to Bangladesh: Play in India or be replaced Scotland | Cricket News

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has told the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that if they don’t agree to send their team to India for the T20 World Cup, they will be replaced Scotland for the tournament starting next month.
It is learnt that the world body, headed chairman Jay Shah, took the opinion of its Board on this matter and apart from Bangladesh and Pakan, everyone voted in favour of having a replacement team – Scotland – if the BCB didn’t agree to the original itinerary.
Bangladesh has been firm in their stand since the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) instructed IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafuzir Rahim, who had been acquired in the auction last month, citing ‘recent developments’.
BCB has been claiming that the situation is not conducive for their team, officials or fans to travel to India for the tournament.
According to the original schedule, Bangladesh’s matches are scheduled in Kolkata and Mumbai.

The decision was taken following an ICC Board meeting (via video-conference) convened to discuss the way forward after the BCB stuck to its stance of moving its matches to Sri Lanka.
“The decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, mediapersons, officials and fans at any of the tournament venues in India,” a press release stated.Story continues below this ad
The ICC Board noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events and undermine its neutrality as a global governing body.

Replacement Team
Scotland
If BCB refuses India travel

Tournament Start
Next Month
T20 World Cup deadline looms

Scheduled Venues
2
Kolkata & Mumbai

ICC Board Voting
18-2
Voted for Scotland option

Indian Express InfoGenIE

As per the press release, the ICC management had engaged in a series of correspondences and meetings with the BCB in a bid to resolve the impasse, sharing detailed information on the event security plan, including layered federal and state law-enforcement support.
“Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament. During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India,” an ICC spokesperson said in a statement.
Calling the Mustafizur episode a “single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its player’s involvement in a domestic league”, it said that it has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.Story continues below this ad
“The ICC’s venue and scheduling decisions are guided objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and the tournament’s agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures,” it said.

“Doing so would carry significant logical and scheduling consequences for other teams and fans worldwide, and would also create far-reaching precedent-related challenges that risk undermining the neutrality, fairness, and integrity of ICC governance.”
Expand

Having spent years covering Mumbai’s local “maidan” cricket circuit, Devendra Pandey brings a unique ground-level perspective to his reporting. … Read More

Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd