Litton Das has once again rejected former Bangladesh interim sports adviser Asif Nazrul’s claim that the decision to skip the 2026 T20 World Cup in India was taken jointly by the players and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).
In a controversial move, the BCB requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift its group-stage matches out of India, citing security concerns for its players and officials. However, after conducting an independent security assessment, the ICC concluded that there was no threat to the Bangladeshi contingent.
Despite the ICC’s findings, the BCB remained firm in its stance. As a result, the ICC replaced Bangladesh with Scotland for the marquee event.
Litton had earlier publicly stated that players were not involved
in discussions regarding the decision not to play matches in India. In January, Asif met with the players and later said the meeting was intended to explain why the Bangladeshi government had made the decision.
However, Asif later added a new dimension to the controversy, claiming that the decision had been taken jointly by the BCB and the players “for the safety of the country’s cricket, the safety of the people and to protect national dignity.”
Litton Calls Out Media Stunt
Das has described the January meeting as a “media stunt.”
“There was never a question. We only went there to participate and have tea. It was merely a media stunt. So, we too had the same mindset,” he told Bangladeshi publication Prothom Alo.
Litton said the players wanted to play cricket, but their views were ultimately dismissed over security concerns. The senior cricketer pointed out that Bangladesh had previously toured Pakistan under far stricter security arrangements, with armed personnel stationed outside their hotel rooms.
“They just asked us what we wanted. As a player, what do you want? We did not want to fight, we wanted to play cricket. However, they questioned safety in India. I said that when we played in Pakistan, they used to stand with guns outside the room. What could be more dangerous than that? But this was their call; we had no say as players,” he said.
