BCB formally writes to ICC, requests apex body for venue change in T20 World Cup 2026 after Mustafizur Rahman row

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has officially written to International Cricket Council (ICC) stating that they won't be sending its players to India for next month's T20 World Cup 2026 citing security reasons. The development came in after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) directed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from it's Indian Premier League squad for next season.

Mustafizur was bought by the three-time IPL champions KKR for ₹9.20 crore at the mini-auction last month. However, the decision to remove Mustafizur from IPL 2026 came after political leaders an religious institutional groups targeted the franchise owner Shah Rukh Khan amid the ongoing turmoil between the two countries.

According to a report in Dhaka Post, the BCB in it's letter to ICC said, “It is not possible to send a team to the T20 World Cup in India due to security concerns.” The BCB has also requested to change the venue of their matches in India to Sri Lanka, the report added.

The decision was taken a

Along with India, Sri Lanka are the co-hosts of the T20 World Cup 2026. Notably, Pakistan will be playing all their games in the tournament on the Lankan venues. According to the original schedule, Bangladesh are slated to play three of the four Group C games at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The other game will be played at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.