On Tuesday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sent a letter to the ICC regarding Bangladesh’s participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup. In the letter, PCB expressed support for the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) position of not wanting to play in India amid political instability in the region. According to cricket news portal ESPNcricinfo, PCB also shared copies of the letter with ICC board members.
ESPNcricinfo reports that the ICC has called a board meeting on Wednesday to discuss Bangladesh’s request to move its matches to Sri Lanka over security concerns, although it is unclear whether PCB’s letter prompted the meeting. The T20 World Cup, starting on 7 February, is scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
The timing of PCB’s letter has raised questions, but it is widely believed it will not influence ICC’s stance. The governing body has consistently rejected changing the World Cup schedule or allowing Bangladesh to play in Sri Lanka. ICC reiterated the same position during discussions with BCB last week.
With the support of the Bangladesh government, BCB has officially refused to send the national team to India for the group-stage matches.
The ICC and BCB have held several meetings on the issue, the latest being last weekend in Dhaka. No party has altered its stance: ICC insists on following the original schedule, while BCB maintains that the team will not travel to India. ESPNcricinfo reported that 21 January had been set as the deadline to finalize the matter.
Earlier reports suggested that PCB had offered to host Bangladesh’s matches in Pakistan and might reconsider its own participation in the World Cup depending on Bangladesh’s decision. However, PCB has not publicly commented, and ESPNcricinfo did not receive any response from them.
The controversy stems from 3 January, when Kolkata Knight Riders, following directives from BCCI, dropped Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL in protest against Indian extremists. The full reason for his exclusion was not provided, though it is believed to be influenced by the deteriorating India-Bangladesh political relations. Following this, the Bangladesh government officially declared that the national team would not play in India for the T20 World Cup.
