After Bangladeshi fast bowler, Mustafizur Rahman, was removed from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of IPL 2026, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) refused to travel to India for the ICC T20 World Cup.
The board cited safety and security concerns for their players for refusing to travel, and demanded their match venues be shifted to Sri Lanka instead.
No concrete decision has been made by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over this just yet, but discussions seem to be on-going. However, a new controversy has emerged with reports stating that an Indian-origin delegate of the apex body has been denied a Bangladesh visa, preventing him from attending talks aimed at resolving the dispute.
T20 World Cup Venue Row Takes New Turn
With the Indian-origin ICC delegate denied a visa, as per local reports, Andrew Ephgrave, leading ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security will now have to attend the discussions alone.
The T20 World Cup is set to start in less than a month, February 7, 2026, and two phases of ticket sales have already been conducted. This makes a last-minute venue-shift request such as this potentially a logistical nightmare.
Bangladesh has toured India on numerous occasions in the past for ICC tournaments as well as bilateral series, without any security concerns. The BCB apparently had no issues sending its players to India for the upcoming World Cup either, all until Mustafizur Rahman was removed from KKR’s IPL 2026 squad.
Interestingly, Bangladeshi cricketers have been protesting over controversial comments against a former player, Tamim Iqbal, who’s calls for improved cricketing relations between the two countries landed ‘Indian agent’ allegations from former BCB Director, M. Najmul Islam. He was sacked amid these protests.
Where Are Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup Matches?
As per the current schedule, Bangladesh is supposed to play three of their four T20 World Cup group stage matches in Kolkata, at the Eden Gardens Stadium.
The last is to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
