‘Impossible to play in India due to anti-Bangladesh campaign’ - BCB advisor says Bangladesh willing to play T20 World Cup 2026 in Pakistan

Asif Nazrul, a sports advisor for Bangladesh, has emphasized that their national cricket squad cannot play T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India. According to Nazrul, Bangladesh will not send its team to play in a nation that harbors anti-Bangladeshi sentiments.

Speaking at an event on Monday, January 12, Nazrul asserted that it was not possible to send the team to compete in the international competition because of the strong anti-Bangladeshi attitude in India. 

Nazrul also made fun of the International Cricket Council. He made fun of the ICC, saying that it ought to let Bangladesh play its games outside of India if it was a real "world organization."

“We believe that given the extreme communal situation prevailing in India and the anti-Bangladesh environment, especially the anti-Bangladesh campaign that has been ongoing in India for the past 16 months, it is impossible for Bangladesh to play cricket in India,” Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul said at the event on Monday, January 12.

“The Mustafizur incident and the letter I mentioned have unequivocally proven this. We believe that no one should have a monopoly over the game of cricket. The fate of a game or a tournament cannot be determined solely on the basis of market management. If the ICC is truly a global organisation and if the ICC does not simply follow India’s dictates, then they should definitely give us the opportunity to play in the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. We will not accept any compromise on this issue,” he added.

As a response to Mustafizur Rahman being removed from KKR squad for IPL 2026, the Bangladesh government banned telecast of IPL in country indefinitely and requested that ICC shift their T20 World Cup matches out of India. Bangladesh is to play three matches of T20 World Cup matches in Kolkata and one in Mumbai.

Bangladesh is prepared to compete in the T20 World Cup in Pakistan.

According to Nazrul, the ICC was open to moving its venues from Kolkata and Mumbai, but Bangladesh was unwilling to accept the idea of moving to other Indian cities.

“They are proposing two venues, both in India. India means India. We are talking about India. We mentioned Kolkata; changing it to Sri Lanka is not a problem. I don’t know if it’s true that Pakistan wants to host our matches. Host it in Pakistan, no problem; host it in the UAE, no problem. When the BCCI in India, bowing to extremist communal forces, says that a player from our team should not be allowed to play there, what greater proof do we need? I will give you a copy of the letter from the security team. It unequivocally proves that there is no suitable environment for us to play there, no suitable environment anywhere in India,” he concluded.

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