The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has remained tight-lipped on the ongoing standoff with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) regarding the T20
World Cup 2026. Bangladesh have refused to travel to India for the tournament, citing security concerns, and have urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to move their matches to co-host Sri Lanka.
Amid the tensions between the two boards, the BCCI has maintained silence on the matter. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia stated that there were no discussions related to the T20 World Cup controversy during the meeting held in Mumbai on January 9. The meeting was attended by BCCI president Mithun Manhas, vice-president Rajeev Shukla, and Head of Cricket at the Centre of Excellence, VVS Laxman.
“The meeting was about the CoE and other cricketing matters. It’s not our domain to talk about that (as the ICC has the final say on Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup),” Saikia said as quoted by India Today.
Saikia revealed that the discussions focused on reviewing the state of operations at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, along with deliberations on streamlining India Under-19 and India A tours going forward.
“We assessed the vacancies at the CoE and decided to go ahead with the recruitment process soon. There is an acute shortage of technical personnel worldwide, but we are trying to fill the positions at the earliest. We are hosting matches at the three grounds there, including the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. We also discussed how the A tours need to be scheduled going forward,” said Saikia.
Meanwhile, the BCB has formally sent a second letter to the ICC requesting that their matches be shifted to Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup. The tournament is scheduled to begin on February 7, with Bangladesh set to play four matches in India. The issue has resulted in continued exchanges between the BCB and the ICC, with the latter seeking clarity on the nature of the security concerns while remaining publicly silent.
The BCB remains divided on the issue, with one faction advocating a hardline stance and another favouring continued dialogue with the ICC and Indian authorities to enhance security measures. While the ICC has not indicated any intention to change the venues, the BCB has maintained that the governing body has shown a willingness to assess its concerns.
