he International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) demand to move the national team’s matches out of India in the ensuing T20 World Cup and has reportedly given an ultimatum to the team to either travel to the the neighbouring country and compete as per schedule or face the ignominy of being replaced by a lowly-ranked nation.
The ICC has given Bangladesh time until January 21 to take a call, beyond which the global cricket body will look to replace Bangladesh.
The ultimatum from the ICC comes a day after Bangladesh proposed a radical idea, urging the global body to switch their group in the T20 World Cup so that they can avoid playing in India. The BCB made this stance public, following their meeting with the ICC delegation, which travelled to Bangladesh to discuss the ongoing T20 World Cup crisis.
At the heart of the dispute is Bangladesh’s refusal – so far – to play its scheduled group-stage matches in India, even though the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup is officially co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8, 2026.
Bangladesh’s fixtures, as released by the ICC in November, place them in a group whose matches are slated for Indian venues – Kolkata (Eden Gardens) and Mumbai (Wankhede Stadium).The BCB has publicly framed its position as a security-driven decision, insisting it does not want the team travelling to India for the tournament.
The ICC, however, has signalled it is not inclined to rewrite the tournament plan at short notice. Sources said the ICC sees no grounds to relocate those matches. The stalemate has intensified because the tournament is only weeks away, forcing the ICC into direct talks with the BCB to avoid a precedent-setting crisis.
