Dhaka: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has clarified that it will not challenge the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to exclude Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup 2026. ICC had removed Bangladesh from the tournament after the team declined to travel to India and replaced them with Scotland.
Reports suggesting that Bangladesh intended to appeal the decision through the ICC Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) have been dismissed by the BCB. Amjad Hussain, Chairman of BCB’s Media Committee, confirmed that the board has accepted the ICC’s ruling and will not take any further action.
“Our Position Is Clear and Unchanged”
Hussain stated, “We respect the ICC board’s decision. Previously, when we informed the ICC that our matches could not be shifted to Sri Lanka, we also could not travel to India. Our stance remains unchanged. We are not approaching any arbitration or alternate authority regarding this matter.”
Bangladesh’s government had explicitly refused to send the team to India due to security concerns for the players. Following the ICC board meeting last week, the government convened a cabinet session, which reaffirmed that the team could not travel. ICC subsequently gave BCB a 24-hour deadline to decide on their participation, to which Bangladesh responded that it was impossible to play under the proposed schedule.
No Approach to ICC Dispute Resolution Committee
Hussain further clarified that the BCB never approached the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee. After Bangladesh declined to travel, ICC selected the next highest-ranked team, Scotland, to participate in the World Cup. An internal ICC security assessment had earlier concluded that there was no threat to Bangladesh in India. A vote in the ICC board, excluding Bangladesh and Pakistan, rejected moving Bangladesh’s matches, after which the deadline for the team’s decision was issued.
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