The International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected a claim that it told the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that including Mustafizur Rahman in its 2026 T20 World Cup squad would pose a ‘security risk’ in India. Bangladesh’s sports advisor, Asif Nazrul, said on Monday that the BCB received a letter from the ICC’s ‘security team’ saying this, using it to push his case that the men’s cricket team shouldn’t travel to India for the event.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on February 7, but Bangladesh have conveyed their reluctance to tour India and has requested that their matches be shifted to another country. The concerns were raised after pacer Mustafizur Rahman was released from the IPL on instructions from the BCCI, which cited unspecified
‘developments’ for the decision, indirectly hinting at the rising anti-Bangladesh sentiment in the country.
“The ICC is aware of public comments made in recent days concerning the participation of Bangladesh in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, including selective references to the ICC’s security risk assessment,” ICC sources told News18. “It is important to clarify that the ICC’s independent risk assessments, carried out by internationally recognised security experts, do not conclude that Bangladesh cannot play its scheduled matches in India. The overall security risk for the tournament in India has been assessed as low to moderate, which is consistent with the profile of many major global sporting events.”
“The assessments did not identify any specific or direct threat to the Bangladesh team, team officials, or match venues in India. Based on the professional advice received, the risk associated with Bangladesh’s scheduled fixtures in Kolkata and Mumbai is assessed as low to moderate, with no indication of risks that cannot be effectively managed through established security planning and mitigation measures.”
“Some media reports have misinterpreted contingency planning as being actual risk, rather than conclusions or determinations. Such scenario planning is routine in order to ensure preparedness and consider all eventualities however remote. As is standard practice in professional security assessments, a broad range of hypothetical scenarios is considered to ensure preparedness. These scenarios are not statements of fact, instructions, or expectations, nor do they represent conditions set by the ICC regarding team selection, supporter behaviour, or domestic political processes.”
“The ICC wishes to be clear that it has never suggested, nor would it suggest, that any team should select or exclude players for security reasons, that supporters should be restricted from wearing national colours, or that domestic democratic processes be altered in order to participate in an ICC event. The ICC has full confidence in the security arrangements being developed in close collaboration with the BCCI and relevant local authorities, who have a strong and proven track record of safely delivering major international sporting events,” the sources said.
Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka, Nazrul said the ICC’s security team had written to the Bangladesh Cricket Board highlighting factors that could heighten risks for the team. According to the letter, security threats would increase if Mustafizur is included in the Bangladesh squad, if Bangladeshi supporters move around wearing the national team jersey, and as Bangladesh’s national elections draw closer.
In light of this, he said Bangladesh won’t even accept changing the venue to another city within India (currently, they play three group stage matches in Kolkata and one in Mumbai), and would accept Sri Lanka, Pakistan, or the UAE hosting their matches.
