Bangladesh have declared that they will no longer play matches in India, putting next month’s T20 World Cup into crisis.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board have said that they would be concerned for the safety of their players were they to play in India amid deteriorating relations between the countries.
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England’s fixture against Bangladesh is among the matches now in jeopardy. Bangladesh are also due to play West Indies and Italy in Kolkata before playing their last group stage game against Nepal in Mumbai.
But the Bangladesh Cricket Board has now asked that all the country’s fixtures be moved outside India with Sri Lanka the co-hosts of the T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7.
Pakistan are already guaranteed to play all matches – including the final, should they qualify – in Sri Lanka as the Pakistan Cricket Board no longer permits the team to play in India.
“Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh government, the Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh national team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,” Bangladesh’s Cricket Board said in a statement.
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“In light of this decision, the BCB has formally requested the International Cricket Council (ICC), as the event authority, to consider relocating all of Bangladesh’s matches to a venue outside India.”
Should the request be granted, the fixture list for the T20 World Cup will be thrown into chaos.
At the end of last year, a Hindu factory worked was killed after being set on fire in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district after being accused of making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad. Hundreds of Indians subsequently protested near Bangladesh’s high commission in New Delhi, raising fears of the security of Bangladeshis.
On Saturday, Kolkata Knight Riders said that they had released Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman at the request of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Following this decision, the BCB held an emergency meeting before requesting the relocation of their matches.
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India was permitted to play all its Champions Trophy matches in the United Arab Emirates last year, following the collapse of its own relations with Pakistan, the official hosts.
The ICC have been contacted for comment.
Analysis: Geopolitics is turning cricket into a mess
How do you organise a cricket tournament? It is an increasingly fiendish question for the International Cricket Council.
Last year’s Champions Trophy was nominally in Pakistan. Yet, perversely, the only side who knew their complete schedule in advance, including where they would play any knockout matches, were India – because they knew they would not play in Pakistan, with all their games in Dubai instead.
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India’s refusal to play in Pakistan is a response to the geopolitical situation between the countries. In response to the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s diktat, the Pakistan Cricket Board no longer allow Pakistan to play fixtures in India.
So for this year’s T20 World Cup, all Pakistan’s matches – including the knockout stages, should they advance – will be in Sri Lanka. The upshot is that the venue for the final might not be confirmed until three days before the game, replicating the situation for the Champions Trophy.
It is a fine mess. Now, the deteriorating relations between Bangladesh and India complicate matters even further. If Bangladesh’s situation is treated in the same way as Pakistan’s, Bangladesh would now play all their fixtures in Sri Lanka.
Who is tasked with sorting out the situation? The ICC – less global governing body than events company. It was long said that even if the ICC could not provide global leadership, they could at least organise tournaments smoothly. Perhaps no longer. Busy times indeed for Jay Shah, the ICC Chairman who is also, handily, the son of Amit Shah, India’s Minister of Home Affairs.
