The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), after holding an emergency meeting last night (January 3), had written to cricket’s apex council ICC for a change of venues in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026. The development comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had asked Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release their Bangladeshi signing Mustafizur Rahman due to the current political unrest in their country and bilateral political relations.
After KKR complied with the request and let go of their INR 9.2 crore signing from the IPL 2026 auction, the BCB responded with their letter to the ICC, flagging concerns over the safety of players and fans travelling to India for T20 World Cup 2026.
Confirming their stance, a BCB statement read today (January 4),
“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.”
Notably, the Bangla Tigers are slated to play all four of their T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage matches in India – three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. For the unversed, India and Sri Lanka are co-hosting the tournament.
It is now understood that ICC have given their verdict on the matter and it is likely that Bangladesh’s match will be moved out of India, Cricbuzz confirmed. AN official confirmation regarding which venues will host which games is yet to come.
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The India tour of Bangladesh, which was postponed from last year to 2026, also seems uncertain amidst deteriorating political ties between the two nations. It is also unlikely that the Indian contingent will get permission from the Indian government to travel across borders to the neighbouring nation and if the situation persists, India might have a Pakistan-like scenario where both nations don’t play any bilateral series and meet only in ICC events at neutral venues.
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