'Double Standards': Bangladesh Pushes Back as ICC Denies Venue Change

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam has openly questioned the International Cricket Council’s consistency in handling venue-related disputes, accusing the global governing body of applying different standards to different teams.

Addressing the media in Dhaka, Aminul drew a sharp contrast between the ICC’s decision to accommodate India’s request to avoid travelling to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy and its refusal to shift Bangladesh’s matches in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup away from India.

Following a high-level meeting involving Bangladesh’s national sports adviser, BCB officials and senior cricketers, the government reiterated its reluctance to allow the national team to tour India, citing security concerns. Despite this, the ICC has declined Bangladesh’s proposal to play their World Cup fixtures in Sri Lanka.

“The ICC granted India a special arrangement for the Champions Trophy,” Aminul said. “India played all their matches at a neutral venue, on one ground, staying in one hotel. That was clearly a privilege.”

Aminul revealed that during discussions, the ICC referenced historical precedents, pointing to instances during the 1996 and 2003 ODI World Cups when teams such as Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies refused to play at certain venues and faced forfeitures. However, he countered by highlighting the ICC’s more recent decisions.

“When a country refused to travel earlier this year, the ICC didn’t force the issue. They organised a neutral venue,” Aminul said. “So when they cite past examples, we remind them of their own recent actions.”

Bangladesh has formally requested that the ICC adopt a similar hybrid model for the 2026 T20 World Cup, allowing them to play their matches in Sri Lanka. Aminul clarified that Sri Lanka is already part of such an arrangement under the tournament’s hosting structure.

“Sri Lanka is being referred to as a co-host, but in reality, it is functioning as a hybrid venue,” he said. “We told the ICC that since our government is unwilling to approve travel to India, we want the same option. That request was rejected.”

The BCB president maintained that Bangladesh remains committed to participating in the World Cup but not at the cost of ignoring government concerns.

“We are ready to play in Sri Lanka. We want to play the World Cup. We just don’t want to play in India,” he said.

The ICC Board had earlier approved a hybrid hosting framework for India–Pakistan matches across ICC tournaments between 2024 and 2027, beginning with the 2025 Champions Trophy. The same approach was used for the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup, hosted by India, where Pakistan played all their matches in Sri Lanka.

Although the 2026 T20 World Cup was originally planned as a co-hosted event between India and Sri Lanka, the ICC decided that any match involving both India and Pakistan—whether in the group stage or knockouts—would be staged in Sri Lanka.

Aminul expressed concern over what he described as the ICC’s inflexibility towards Bangladesh, a nation with a massive cricket-following population.

“We are proud of Bangladesh cricket, but we are worried about the direction of world cricket,” he said. “Cricket is heading to the Olympics in 2028. India is bidding to host the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Excluding a cricket-loving nation of 200 million people from a World Cup would reflect poorly on the sport.”

The ICC, however, has stood firm. In a statement issued after its board meeting, the governing body said there was no credible security threat to Bangladesh in India and warned that changing venues at this stage could undermine the integrity of future tournaments.

“The ICC Board noted that it was not feasible to amend the schedule so close to the event,” the statement said, adding that altering venues without substantiated security risks could set an undesirable precedent and compromise the organisation’s neutrality.

The ICC has also reportedly informed the BCB that Bangladesh could be replaced at the 2026 T20 World Cup if it refuses to travel to India.

When asked about the ICC’s 24-hour deadline for Bangladesh to revise its stance, Aminul dismissed the ultimatum.

“A global organisation cannot operate by issuing a 24-hour deadline,” he said. “We will continue to fight this matter through proper channels.”

The BCB is expected to resume talks with the ICC, but Aminul made it clear that Bangladesh’s position remains unchanged for now.

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