Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul has said that Bangladesh will not accept any unreasonable conditions imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) under pressure from India.
Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat on Tuesday (January 20), Asif Nazrul, who also serves as Law Adviser, said Bangladesh cannot be forced to play the T20 World Cup in India under pressure.
Responding to a query about a report by news agency AFP that Scotland would participate in the World Cup if Bangladesh did not go to India, Asif Nazrul said, “We have not officially heard that Scotland will replace us. The point is, if the ICC (International Cricket Council) bows to pressure from the Indian cricket board and tries to impose unreasonable conditions on us, we will not accept them.”
He added, “There have been similar examples before. India had said they could not play in Pakistan, and the ICC changed the venue. For very valid reasons, we have also suggested a change of venue. We cannot be forced to play in India under unreasonable pressure.”
Following threats and objections from extremist Hindutva groups, and the subsequent decision by the BCCI to drop Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL, Bangladesh’s participation in the World Cup on Indian soil has become uncertain. Later, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced, following government instructions, that Bangladesh will not play in India.