Still Hopeful of Justice From ICC: Bangladesh Refuse to Budge on T20 WC

Dhaka: A defiant Bangladesh on Thursday refused to send its national cricket team for next month's T20 World Cup in India after the ICC rejected its demand for a change of venue, effectively paving the way for Scotland to take the country's place. Bangladesh had been served an ultimatum by the world body on Wednesday to either agree to travel to India or risk being replaced as there was no credible threat to the safety of their players, officials or fans there.

The country was given time till Thursday to make its decision. Scotland is next in line based on team rankings for the tournament starting February 7.

However, taking a hard-line position Bangladesh's sports advisor Asif Nazrul, after a meeting with national team players, announced that the ICC's assessment was not acceptable to them.

"While our cricketers have worked hard to qualify for the World Cup, the security risk regarding playing in India remains unchanged. This concern is not based on abstract analysis...," Nazrul said in a press conference while declaring that the country won't play in India.

"...we are not convinced that they can ensure the safety of our entire team, journalists, and spectators.

"We are not giving up hope yet; our team is ready. We expect the ICC to provide justice by considering our genuine security risks and allowing us to play in Sri Lanka," he added.

Bangladesh are due to play four games in India (three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai). The country raised security concerns after pacer Mustafizur Rahman was ousted from the IPL on BCCI's instructions for unspecified "developments all around."

"It is crucial to weigh the loss of not playing against the potential catastrophe of pushing players, fans, and journalists into a risky regional political situation. This is a government decision, as the state is responsible for determining whether its citizens face security risks abroad," Nazrul asserted.

The ICC on Wednesday refused to accept its security concerns, saying that the Bangladesh Cricket Board was 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."

"In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures," the ICC had stated.

"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," it added.

"Players understand"

Nazrul was asked if the players, who have repeatedly pleaded for an amicable solution that takes into account their welfare, have been brought on board for a boycott of the premier tournament.

"We met with the players to explain the context and the government's reasoning behind this decision. As this was a privileged communication, the specifics of what the players said will not be disclosed to allow them to speak freely, but they seemed to understand the situation," Nazrul responded.

"Bangladesh is a populous, cricket-loving nation with nearly 200 million fans. If the ICC fails to accommodate us, it will be a significant loss for world cricket and a failure for the host country," he said.

Former captain Tamim Iqbal, and current Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto were among the prominent players' voices who demanded that the welfare of the cricketers be made the priority by administrators in both the BCB and the government.

Iqbal was even called "an agent of India" by a senior functionary of the BCB for suggesting that Bangladesh avoid a hard-line approach.

Players stand to lose massively in remuneration given the current situation and BCB director Nazmul Islam had caused an uproar by saying that they would not be compensated as they have failed to produce any significant results in ICC events.

Islam was forced to resign as head of BCB's finance committee as a result of the players' outrage.