Bangladesh will not play T20 World Cup games in India over safety concerns

Bangladesh will not play its T20 World Cup 2026 fixtures in India over concerns about the players’ safety, following the removal of a top Bangladeshi player from the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said.

Amid growing political tension between the South Asian neighbours, the BCB requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move its games to Sri Lanka and sought clarity on fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman’s abrupt removal from the IPL, the board said in a statement on Sunday.

The BCB board of directors met in an emergency meeting following Mustafizur’s release from the IPL and confirmed its decision shortly afterwards.

“Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government, the board of directors resolved that the Bangladesh national team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,” it said.

“The board believes that such a step is necessary to safeguard the safety and wellbeing of Bangladeshi players, team officials, Board members and other stakeholders and to ensure that the team can participate in the tournament in a secure and appropriate environment,” the statement added and urged the ICC to take swift action.

Earlier on Saturday, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul condemned the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) decision to release Mustafizur.

“The board should inform that where a Bangladeshi cricketer cannot play in India despite being contracted, the entire Bangladeshi cricket team cannot feel safe going to play in the World Cup,” Nazrul wrote in a social media post.

He later lauded the BCB’s decision to seek relocation of its matches to Sri Lanka.

“We welcome this decision taken in the context of ‍the extreme communal ⁠policy of India’s cricket board,” he said.

“We will not accept any insult to Bangladeshi cricket, cricketers and Bangladesh under any circumstances. The days of slavery are over.”

Defending champions India and 2014 winners Sri Lanka will cohost the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 from February 7 to March 8.

Bangladesh are scheduled to play all their group-stage matches in India, with three fixtures allocated to Eden Gardens in Kolkata – on February 7, 9 and 14 – and one to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 17.

Should the ICC – headed by former BCCI chief Jay Shah – consider the BCB’s request, Bangladesh will become the second country to have its games moved out of India.

Sri Lanka will host all of Pakistan’s matches as the 2009 champions will not travel to India in an ICC-brokered agreement that allows the bitter rivals to avoid travelling across their mutual border.

Earlier on Saturday, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) confirmed that Mustafizur had been released from the franchise’s squad for IPL 2026 after the BCCI advised it to do so, and the move was confirmed by the Indian cricket board’s secretary, Devajit Saikia.

“Due to the recent developments which are going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad, and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement,” Saikia told Indian news agency ANI.

Political tension spills over into sport

The ongoing tensions between India and Bangladesh have flared in recent weeks after a 25-year-old Hindu man was lynched and burned publicly in Bangladesh following allegations of blasphemy.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs last month condemned what it called “unremitting hostility against minorities”.

A few days later, Hindutva activists tried to storm the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi as they rallied against the neighbouring nation for failing to protect its Hindu minorities.

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, condemned the lynching, saying there is no space for such violence in the new Bangladesh.

“The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared,” his office said in a statement. Two days later, 12 people were arrested in connection with the lynching, The Daily Star newspaper reported.

Last week, Bangladesh expressed concern over recent incidents of violence and killings involving minority communities in India, urging the authorities there to carry out impartial investigations and bring those responsible to justice.

“We expect the relevant authorities in India to conduct impartial investigations into these incidents and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson SM Mahbubul Alam said.

Diplomatic relations between the once-close allies have been sharply tested since August last year, when former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled to New Delhi from Dhaka after an uprising against her rule.

Bangladesh blames India for some of its troubles, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s support for Hasina when she was in power.

Political tensions have spilled over into sport in recent months, with the Bangladeshi women’s cricket team’s recent tour of India postponed indefinitely, and the Indian men’s team’s tour of Bangladesh meeting the same fate in August.

The BCCI’s move to have Mustafizur removed from the IPL has met with backlash in Bangladesh, where the popular franchise league may face a blackout.

Bangladeshi government official Nazrul said he had requested the national broadcasting body to “stop broadcasting of IPL tournament in Bangladesh”.