ICC confirms Bangladesh’s T20 WC matches to be played in India as per schedule

The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Wednesday, January 21, confirmed that the much-awaited ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign will go ahead as per the schedule, with Bangladesh’s matches set to be played in India.

It’s important to note that this decision was taken after an ICC Board meeting via video conference after the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) pleaded for its matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka due to security concerns.

In its official statement, the apex body has revealed that the decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any of the tournament venues in India.

"Over the past several weeks, the ICC has engaged with the BCB in sustained and constructive dialogue, with the clear objective of enabling Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament. During this period, the ICC has shared detailed inputs, including independent security assessments, comprehensive venue-level security plans and formal assurances from the host authorities, all of which consistently concluded that there is no credible or verifiable threat to the safety or security of the Bangladesh team in India,” an ICC spokesperson said.

“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, 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. This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup,” the official said.

“The ICC’s venue and scheduling decisions are guided by objective threat assessments, host guarantees, and the tournament’s agreed terms of participation, which apply uniformly to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent security findings that materially compromise the safety of the Bangladesh team, the ICC is unable to relocate fixtures. 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,” the official added.

“The ICC remains committed to acting in good faith, upholding consistent standards, and safeguarding the collective interests of the global game,” the official concluded.

In the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, Bangladesh is part of Group C alongside West Indies, England, Nepal and Italy.

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