Sports Desk : dhakamirror.com
Bangladesh’s matches in the forthcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will proceed as scheduled in India, stated the International Cricket Council on Thursday after an ICC Board meeting was held via video conference.
The 10th edition of the tournament is scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
‘The decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any of the tournament venues in India,’ stated ICC in a press release.
‘The ICC Board noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events and undermine its neutrality as a global governing body,’ it added.
ICC also mentioned that its management engaged in ‘a series of correspondences and meetings with the BCB in a bid to resolve the impasse, sharing detailed information on the event security plan, including layered federal and state law-enforcement support.’
‘Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament,’ an ICC spokesperson was quoted in the press release.
‘During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India,’ he added.
The spokesperson also labelled the dropping of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League as an ‘isolated incident.’
‘Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its player’s involvement in a domestic league. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,’ the spokesperson said.
‘The ICC’s venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and the tournament’s agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures.
‘Doing so would carry significant logistical and scheduling consequences for other teams and fans worldwide and would also create far-reaching precedent-related challenges that risk undermining the neutrality, fairness, and integrity of ICC governance.
‘The ICC remains committed to acting in good faith, upholding consistent standards, and safeguarding the collective interests of the global game,’ the spokesperson concluded.
