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Bangladesh holds Pakistan's hands to rally against India; pressurises ICC with new threat

Abhinav Tyagi

Bangladesh and Pakistan - (Source: AFP)Bangladesh and Pakistan - (Source: AFP)

In a significant development, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) have seeked Pakistan’s help to put pressure on ICC to relocate Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup 2026 matches from India to Sri Lanka. For the unversed, the Tigers have refused to travel to India for the prestigious twenty-over event, citing security issues.

A report from NDTV stated that Bangladesh have asked the PCB to support them in their appeal, and it added that Pakistan have indeed joined hands with the BCB and have threatened to change their participation stance for the World Cup if ICC doesn’t listen to Bangladesh's request of a venue change to Sri Lanka, where Ireland will also play all of their group-stage matches.

"The Bangladesh government contacted officials in Pakistan to seek support regarding their participation in the upcoming T20 World Cup and received a positive response," a source said in conversation with NDTV.

"Pakistan has indicated to us that they could reconsider their own participation if Bangladesh's issue is not addressed," the source added.

Bangladesh’s latest plea rejected by ICC

The tug of war between ICC and Bangladesh has now gone on for nearly a month, but there is no progress in the matter. Bangladesh are firm that they won’t travel to India for the T20 World Cup 2026, and in reply, the ICC delegate arrived in Dhaka for a meeting.

The meeting was not fruitful because the BCB put a new demand, which was to swap their T20 World Cup 2026 group with Ireland, who will play all their matches in Sri Lanka. 

However, the ICC has rejected the plea, and the situation is still where it started. Bangladesh don’t want to visit India, and they have no update on whether the ICC will actually listen to their request because the T20 World Cup 2026 starts from February 7 and there is little time left for the tournament.

Why does Bangladesh not want to come to India?

There are multiple reasons why Bangladesh don't want to travel to India for T20 World Cup 2026. Firstly, Tensions escalated in December after the brutal lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu factory worker in Bangladesh, an incident that sparked strong reactions in India and led to rising dissent on social media. Recently, religious group leaders called for a boycott because Indian citizens are angered by the recent events in Bangladesh.

Eventually, KKR released Mustafizur Rahman from the team for IPL 2026, which caused an uproar in Bangladesh. The BCB felt disrespected and sought action against the BCCI. Therefore, amid the sour relations, Bangladesh have refused to travel to India.

Notably, it has now become a pattern that due to geopolitical issues, ICC is finding it difficult to make schedules. Nonetheless, in the latest events, they have assured Ireland that their group won't be swapped with Bangladesh and will continue to be in Group B with Australia, Oman, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe.