The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) declined to allow its team to travel to India, citing security concerns following Mustafizur Rahman’s removal from the IPL.
The ICC asserted that there was no credible security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials, or fans in India, emphasizing it was inappropriate to alter the published event schedule.
Scotland’s inclusion in the tournament, beginning February 7, resolved the uncertainty regarding Bangladesh’s participation after the BCB remained firm in its demands and even proposed swapping its group with Ireland’s.
During the ICC Board meeting on Wednesday, Bangladesh lost its proposal to shift matches by a substantial 14-2 vote, with only Pakistan backing its position.
“Bangladesh will no longer compete in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) opted not to participate in the tournament according to the published match schedule,” the ICC stated.
“This decision follows a thorough process conducted by the ICC to address the concerns raised by the BCB regarding the hosting of its scheduled matches in India.” It has been reported that top ICC officials, including chairman Jay Shah, were in Dubai on Friday, and late that evening, an email was sent to BCB chairman Aminul Islam Bulbul regarding the global body’s decision.
“The ICC’s evaluations concluded that there was no credible or verifiable security threat to the Bangladesh national team, officials, or fans in India.
“In light of these findings and after careful consideration of the broader implications, the ICC determined it was not appropriate to amend the published event schedule,” the statement continued.
The ICC provided the BCB a 24-hour window to confirm whether its team would travel to India as scheduled.
“As no confirmation was received within the set timeframe, the ICC proceeded according to its established governance and qualification processes to select a replacement team.” “Scotland is the next-highest ranked T20I team that originally missed T20 World Cup qualification. They currently hold the 14th position, ahead of competing teams such as Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal, USA, Canada, Oman, and Italy.
“Scotland has stepped in to replace Bangladesh in Group C, joining England, Italy, Nepal, and the West Indies.” Scotland will face West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9), and England (February 14) in Kolkata, followed by a match against Nepal in Mumbai on February 17.
Asif Nazrul, advisor to the Bangladesh Sports Ministry, advised against the national team’s travel to India, citing security concerns despite receiving repeated assurances from the ICC.
The BCB, in a desperate attempt, approached the Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) of the ICC, unaware that the sub-committee is not permitted to hear appeals against decisions made by its own Board of Directors.
While the mandatory independent security threat assessment for Bangladesh was deemed “low to moderate,” similar to all teams, the anti-India hardliner Nazrul issued a directive as a representative of the interim government that the team could not be allowed to travel to India under these circumstances.
Moreover, a meeting between Nazrul and the national team players became a one-sided exchange, with Nazrul doing all the talking and informing the star cricketers that they wouldn’t be allowed to participate in the tournament.
Financial implication for BCB
The repercussions of this abrupt exit will significantly impact the BCB financially. The board will forfeit a USD 500,000 participation fee allocated to each nation. However, the larger potential loss involves the ICC’s annual revenue.
The BCB typically receives nearly USD 27 million (330 crore BDT) as a share of its revenue from the ICC, which constitutes about 60 percent of its annual budget.
Additionally, the loss of sponsorship revenue from not competing in the tournament will be detrimental. Furthermore, with India not engaging in a bilateral series in that region, the BCB stands to lose funds equivalent to approximately ten bilateral series against other nations.
The sole legal recourse available to the BCB is to approach the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, but the tournament will proceed regardless.
