ICC turns down Bangladesh request, India venues stay for T20 World Cup 2026

The International Cricket Council's and the Bangladesh Cricket Board's face-off has become more serious now that the ICC has declined Bangladesh's proposal to move its T20 World Cup 2026 matches outside India. The officiating body has signalled that no alteration will be made to the timetable or the places with less than a month remaining before the tournament kicks off.

The ICC denies the BCB wishes for grounds to be relocated after the review

On-site and security issues were reported by ESPNcricinfo and Cricbuzz, and a virtual meeting took place on Tuesday among ICC officials and BCB representatives. The meeting was the one through which ICC told BCB that it detected no security threats that were credible or could be acted upon for Bangladesh national cricket team while playing in India. The ICC thus finds no reason to shift Bangladesh's matches to Sri Lanka.

The problem initially came up due to the rising diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh, which were exacerbated by Mustafizur Rahman's release from Kolkata Knight Riders prior to IPL 2026. His case was in wake of the BCB's expressing its concerns and formally writing to the ICC about the "safety and security" situation of its players and officials and asking for the relocation of Bangladesh's matches in the World Cup from India.

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Conflicting claims persist as ICC holds firm on India venues

Whereas ESPNcricinfo noted that the ICC cautioned Bangladesh that they would have to go to India or otherwise lose points, the BCB has rejected the idea that any such ultimatum was given to them. The ICC and the BCB have not provided any written official statements that would clarify the meeting's outcome, which only adds to the situation's ambiguity.

According to the current itinerary, Bangladesh will face West Indies on February 7 in the first match of their T20 World Cup 2026 at Eden Gardens. Before moving on to Mumbai to compete against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium, they will also have matches with Italy and England in Kolkata.

The ICC’s verdict has been in favor of Bangladesh; however, the situation remains the same for now. With the tournament nearing, the BCB is probably going to have to make its decision regarding the next step, but the ICC is telling them that, security-wise, it is the same old story in India and Sri Lanka in regard to the World Cup.