Bangladesh’s Participation in 2026 T20 World Cup to Be Finalised by January 21

A final decision on Bangladesh's participation in the 2026 T20 World Cup will be made by January 21. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has reiterated its request to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to hold the event outside India, citing security concerns. While Sri Lanka, as co-hosts, has been suggested as an alternative, the ICC has remained firm in its stance on keeping the original schedule, which includes Bangladesh’s matches in Kolkata and Mumbai.

The BCB had raised its concerns regarding security on January 4, leading to an ongoing standoff, as the T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7. The BCB’s position was further confirmed during talks held in Dhaka last Saturday, where the ICC assured that no direct security threats had been identified to Bangladesh’s team. However, despite this, the BCB continues to push for a venue change.

The ICC has made it clear that they will not move Bangladesh to Group B, which would involve swapping places with Ireland, who will be playing their matches in Sri Lanka. If Bangladesh ultimately decides not to travel to India, the ICC is likely to replace them with Scotland, based on the current rankings.
 

The tensions began after the BCCI directed Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL squad. Following this, Bangladesh banned the broadcast of IPL matches in the country, leading to the BCB’s formal refusal to play its T20 World Cup matches in India.