Bangladesh firm about not playing World Cup in India: Sports adviser

Bangladesh remain firm in their position not to play the next T20 World Cup in India in the current situation, Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul said on Wednesday, January 7.

He hoped Bangladesh would be able to convince the International Cricket Council (ICC) of this stance.

Asif Nazrul, also adviser to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, made the remarks in reply to a question from journalists after a meeting at the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Bangladesh Cricket Board President Aminul Islam Bulbul and the board directors, and officials of the Sports Ministry were present at the meeting.

"We will not compromise with our cricketers' security and Bangladesh's dignity. We want to play the World Cup in another host country, Sri Lanka," Asif Nazrul said.

"We are firm in this position (not travelling to India to play World Cup), and hope we will be able to convince the ICC of our stance," he added.

Earlier on Sunday, January 4, the BCB wrote to the ICC requesting it to relocate Bangladesh's World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka.

The decision follows the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) asking the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladeshi player Mustafizur Rahman from their squad for IPL 2026.

"Due to the recent developments which is going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad, and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement," Devajit Saikia, the BCCI secretary, said on Saturday.

Though Saikia didn't specify what the reason for the BCCI's decision was, Indian news outlets over the past few days have reported Indian spiritual and political leaders as criticising KKR and their owner Shah Rukh Khan for including Mustafizur in their line-up at a time when, reportedly, Hindu minorities are being attacked in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, just a day before Saikia's statement on Mustafizur, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced their home season, starting March 2026, and that includes a white-ball tour of three ODIs and three T20Is by India, a series that was originally planned for 2025 but was rescheduled.

With inputs from ESPNcricinfo

RMM/MSU