The Bangladesh government does not consider it safe to send the Bangladesh team to India for the T20 World Cup.

Following the decision to withdraw Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL due to extremist tensions, the government’s Youth and Sports Adviser D. Asif Nazrul shared information about the decision not to send the team.

Citing security concerns, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had emailed the ICC requesting that World Cup venues be shifted from India. After receiving a response from the ICC, the BCB president held a meeting with the adviser on Wednesday (7 January).

The Youth and Sports Adviser said, “At the cost of humiliation to our nation, at the cost of the security of our cricketers, our spectators, our journalists, and at the cost of the country’s dignity, we do not want to play World Cup cricket.” 

“After reading the letter we received from the ICC, it seemed to us that they (the ICC) were unable to comprehend the severe security situation in India and what it means for Bangladeshi cricketers,” -said Asif Nazrul.

He further said, “And to me it seemed that this is not only a security issue, it is also an issue of national humiliation. However, we are prioritising the security issue. When the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) itself is telling a Kolkata team that they cannot provide security to this player (Mustafizur) and to drop him, that itself proves that there is no environment to play safely in India.”

The country’s sports guardian said, “We will not compromise on the security of Bangladeshi players or on our dignity. We want to play cricket, we want to play the World Cup, and we want to play it in another host country, Sri Lanka. We are firm on this position.”

He further said on the matter, “Why we are firm on this position—we hope we will be able to explain that to the ICC. And we hope the ICC will consider our demands impartially and allow Bangladesh the opportunity to play in the World Cup.”