World T20 2026: Bangladesh reiterates its call to move games from India to Sri Lanka

“We will return to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka.

“They gave us a 24-hour deadline but a world body cannot do that. The ICC will deprive 200 million people of watching the World Cup. This will be their loss.”

Scotland, as the top-ranked nation that did not qualify directly for the World Cup, could have a late route into the competition if the ICC replaces Bangladesh.

The T20 World Cup, hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will be held from February 7 to March 8.

Bangladesh are scheduled to play three of their four group stage matches in Kolkata, including against England on February 14, the other in Mumbai.

“There is no room to change our decision,” said Asif Nazrul, youth and sports affairs adviser to the interim Bangladeshi government.

“It is important to balance the loss of not playing with the potential disaster of pushing players, fans and journalists into a precarious regional political situation.

He added, “This is a government decision, as the state is responsible for determining whether its citizens face security risks abroad.”