Our Bureau
Dhaka
Bangladesh’s Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul has walked back his earlier claims that the government barred the national cricket team from travelling to India for the T20 World Cup 2026, now insisting the decision was taken by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the players themselves.
Speaking at a media conference on Tuesday, Nazrul said there was “no question of regret” over Bangladesh’s absence from the tournament and described the withdrawal as a collective choice made to protect the “safety of the country’s cricket, the safety of the people and national dignity.” This marks a clear reversal from his previous stance during the protracted stalemate, when he repeatedly maintained that the Bangladesh government had ordered the team not to travel and that the BCB had merely followed those instructions.
The controversy erupted after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) directed Kolkata Knight Riders to drop pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL 2026 squad, triggering a diplomatic and sporting row. Nazrul had earlier pre‑empted the BCB’s formal announcement on January 4, declaring Bangladesh’s unwillingness to play its World Cup fixtures in India. Within days, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that Scotland would replace Bangladesh in the tournament.
In a separate development, the ICC announced this week that Bangladesh would face no sanctions for its non‑participation and would instead be awarded hosting rights for an ICC event in 2028, following negotiations between the Pakistan Cricket Board and the ICC in Lahore, where BCB president Aminul Islam was present. Nazrul hailed the outcome as a “brilliant achievement” and praised the BCB for securing the future tournament, even as questions linger over the shifting narrative around who ultimately called the shot on India travel.
