‘We won’t play in India’: BCB president questions ICC decisions in T20 World Cup row

The long-pending decision has finally been taken, with Bangladesh likely to miss the upcoming T20 World Cup, following unresolved concerns over playing in India. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Aminul Islam Bulbul confirmed the take and has strongly criticised recent decisions taken at the ICC Board Meeting, stating that Bangladesh will not play the World Cup in India despite their desire to participate in the tournament.

“We will continue to communicate with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we won’t play in India. We will keep fighting,” Bulbul said, expressing dissatisfaction with the decision-making process.

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“The ICC had denied our request to move our matches outside India,” Bulbul said, adding that the decision has raised serious concerns about the direction of global cricket governance. “We are not sure about the status of world cricket. Its popularity is going down. They have locked away 200 million people.”

He further stated that cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Games should be a platform for wider global participation, warning that excluding nations like Bangladesh reflects poorly on the ICC.

“Cricket is going to the Olympics, but if a country like us is not going there, it is the ICC’s failure,” he added.

The BCB president also revealed that there were “some shocking calls” made during the ICC Board Meeting and stressed that the Mustafizur Rahman issue was not an isolated incident.

“The Mustafizur issue is not a single issue. India were the sole decision-makers in that matter,” he added, hinting at concerns over fairness and governance within the ICC.

We will continue to communicate with the ICC. We want to play the World Cup, but we won’t play in India. We will keep fighting. There were some shocking calls in the ICC Board Meeting. The Mustafizur issue is not an isolated single issue. They (India) were the sole decision… pic.twitter.com/xYwoFR8kJg

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2026

Bulbul’s remarks underline growing tensions between the BCB and the ICC.

Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul on BCB’s decision

Bangladesh government adviser Asif Nazrul has backed the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s decision on World Cup participation. The announcement came after a meeting in Dhaka attended by Nazrul, BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul, BCB CEO Nizamuddin, and several national team players. Among those present were Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Jaker Ali, Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hassan.

“Let me tell you clearly. It is the government’s decision not to play in India due to security concerns,” Nazrul said on Thursday.

He accused the ICC of failing to address Bangladesh’s concerns and said the board had not shown any goodwill.

“ICC has failed to convince us on the security question. ICC has not taken any stand on our grievances. Even the Indian government did not communicate with us, or try to assuage our fears… they haven’t apologised, and they haven’t proposed any new security measures, the ICC hasn’t shown us any goodwill either” he added.

“We haven’t lost hopes yet. We hope ICC will understand our genuine security risk concerns, and allow us to play in Sri Lanka. All of us want that we play the World Cup, because our cricketers have done tremendous hard work. There is no improvement in the security threat in India. Our apprehensions of security threats in India are not based on analysis. Security threats are real. A top-class Bangladesh player [Mustafizur Rahman] was removed from playing in India, at the dictate of BCCI.”