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India Bangladesh Controversy around T20 World Cup 2026 deepens (Source: AFP)
The ongoing controversy between India and Bangladesh around the latter’s participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 has been taking new turns with every passing day. After an exchange of statements in the media from both BCCI and Bangladesh, the situation still seems to be in a deadlock.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently broke silence on being asked about their stance on this controversy. Notably, all eyes are now on India and the BCCI, alongside the ICC, after the Bangladesh Cricket Board refused to play the T20 World Cup 2026 games in India.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia clears the air
In the same line of events, the BCCI secretary Devajit Saika came up with a statement that cleared the air around the questions on the Indian board’s stance.
“The meeting was about CoE and other cricketing matters. It’s not in our domain to talk about that (as the ICC has the final say on Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup,” Saikia was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Furthermore, Saikia explained the actual agenda items discussed during the BCCI meeting and informed the media about the BCCI’s plans to enhance the quality at the Centre of Excellence (CoE).
The BCCI president, Mithun Manhas, vice-president Rajiv Shukla, and head of cricket at the CoE in Bengaluru, VVS Laxman, were also a part of this meeting.
“Assessed the vacancies at CoE and decided to go ahead with the recruitment process soon. There is an actual shortage of technical personnel worldwide, but we are trying to fill the positions at the earliest,” Saikia said.
He also spoke about the current operational situation at the Centre of Excellence and the BCCI’s plans.
“We thought it was an appropriate time to review the preparations and activities of CoE. We are hosting matches on the three grounds there (including the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26). We also talked about how A tours need to be scheduled going forward,” he added later.
India-Bangladesh fiasco in brief
The BCCI’s decision to postpone India Men’s and Women’s tour of Bangladesh last year in the light of geopolitical rifts with the latter was the initiation point of the cracks in cricketing relations. Furthermore, the rise and alignment of anti-India powers and sentiments in Bangladesh also triggered India to take the matter more seriously.
It was further translated into the BCCI’s instruction for the IPL franchise, KKR, to release the Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman ahead of the IPL 2026. Later, the Bangladesh Cricket Board also responded promptly by refusing to play their T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India.
Apart from this, the BCB also decided not to broadcast IPL 2026 in Bangladesh. Returning to Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup, the ball is now in the ICC’s court, and the apex body has comparatively less time to shift the venues for Bangladesh outside India, as the tournament is less than a month away. Any official announcement and statement is still awaited from the apex cricket board in this fiasco.
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