Bangladesh is now regretting the decision to boycott the T20 World Cup 2026, which is why Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul, who earlier supported the boycott, had to say that this was not his decision but that of the BCB and the players. He had told the media on Tuesday that the decision of not playing the World Cup in India was that of the players and the Bangladesh Cricket Board. But after this he started getting criticized, because the Bangladesh government had earlier said that on the basis of security concerns, the government has decided not to play in India. But after becoming a victim of criticism, Asif has once again changed his statement.

Asif Nazrul, who on Tuesday said that the players had taken the decision to boycott T20 World Cup 2026, said on Wednesday that he could not explain his point properly. He said, “Once again, I clearly say that the government had taken the decision not to play in the T20 World Cup 2026.”

Nazrul told that what he said in an impromptu conversation with journalists after an event of Bangladesh Cricket Board was misunderstood. According to him, the question asked was whether he regretted not playing, the question was not who took the decision.

Nazrul told that in early January, the Bangladesh government had decided not to send the cricket team to India citing security concerns. He had said this clearly in many previous statements.

Nazrul’s statement caused controversy

It was clear from Nazrul’s statement that the Bangladesh government is telling the BCB and the players the reason for being out of the T20 World Cup, because he said that this decision was of the players and the board. He said this while talking to journalists after a BCB event on February 10. This increased the controversy, but Nazrul then took a U-turn and said that his statement was misunderstood. Accepting it as the government’s decision, he said, “The main credit goes to them for sticking to the decision.”

The issue of Bangladesh’s withdrawal from T20 World Cup 2026 is no longer limited to sports only, but has taken the form of political rhetoric. In the latest development, the country’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul has given such a statement, which has given a new direction to the entire controversy. On Tuesday, February 10, he said that the decision to withdraw from the World Cup was not taken by the government, but by the players and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). According to him, this step was taken keeping in mind the honor of the country and the future of cricket. The government had only supported this decision.

What did you say before?

A few weeks ago, on January 22, Asif Nazrul had clearly told the media that the government has taken the decision to withdraw from the World Cup. He had also told that this step has been taken due to not getting a satisfactory response from the ICC. At that time it was indicated that the players were only informed about the decision and were not consulted. In such a situation, it is natural to raise questions by changing the statement.

Why the change in statement now?

Now in their new statement it has been said that the players and the board themselves have taken this decision keeping in mind the national honor and the future of cricket. He has called it a step taken in the national interest. This change has become the cause of the entire controversy.

At present, a clear and detailed statement is awaited from the Bangladesh Cricket Board. In the coming days, it may become clear at what level the actual decision to withdraw from the World Cup was taken. It is certain that this U-turn has once again started the discussion on the relationship between sports and politics. It is not easy for any team to stay away from a big stage like the T20 World Cup. In such a situation, this change in rhetoric has further complicated the matter.

Bangladesh and Pakistan quietly joined hands for the T20 World Cup against India. Now this has been revealed. Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul thanked Islamabad for boycotting the tournament and said that Islamabad has supported Bangladesh’s boycott by boycotting a match against India in Colombo.

“Thank you, Pakistan,” Nazrul posted on Facebook. He further wrote, “Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has given a statement that his country has decided to boycott the match against India in protest against Bangladesh’s exclusion from the T20 World Cup.”

what is the whole matter
Nazrul is the sports advisor in the interim government led by Mohammed Yunus and the function of the advisor is similar to that of a minister in the department. Actually, Nazrul is the Sports Minister in the interim government, which was formed after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government in the July-August 2024 movement. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been asked by the Sharif government to abandon the match against India to be held on February 15 in Colombo, as Bangladesh had refused to play the match due to security concerns, due to which Scotland has been asked to play the match in place of Bangladesh.

What did the Pakistani PM say?
Nazrul’s letter of thanks came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement. “We have made our stand clear on the T20 World Cup that we will not play matches against India because there should not be politics on the playing field,” Sharif said at a government meeting in Islamabad. He further said, “We have taken this stance very thoughtfully and we should stand completely with Bangladesh. I think this is a very appropriate decision. We are with Bangladesh.”

Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) claim that India is not safe for its cricketers has been dashed by its own contradictions as it has allowed Bangladeshi shooters to play in New Delhi to participate in the Asian Shooting Championship.

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If there is honesty then it is like this! When he went to steal, he was beaten by the public, the thief himself went to the police station and filed a report.

The Bangladesh government has decided to boycott the 2026 T20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka. Asif Nazrul, Sports Advisor to Bangladesh Government, announced this through a press conference. He said that we all want to play the World Cup. The issue of safety of our players and team still remains in India. It started with the removal of a player from the team.

Asif Nazrul said in the press conference, we all want to play the World Cup. The issue of safety of our players and team still remains in India. It started with the removal of a player from his team. No matter what the ICC says that there is no security concern, our player has been expelled from their tournament. That country is hosting the World Cup. What has changed since then? If Mustafizur Rahman cannot be given security, then how can we assume that the ICC will provide security?

He further said, whatever conversation I had with the players is a personal conversation. Whatever he told us, I will not tell anyone. The purpose of the meeting was to know their wishes. I don’t want to put my players at risk. This is the decision of our government. We cannot put our players in danger.

#BREAKING | Bangladesh will not play T20 World Cup in India, decision of interim government of Bangladesh@MeghaSPrasad | @GSV1980 https://t.co/smwhXUROiK#BreakingNews #T20WorldCup #BCM #Bangladesh #ICC pic.twitter.com/Iwxc3LipHK

— ABP News (@ABPNews) January 22, 2026

ICC had refused to shift the match out of India

Let us tell you that Bangladesh Cricket Board had requested to shift its matches of 2026 T20 World Cup from India to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC had rejected this demand of BCB on Wednesday. Rejecting this demand in the ICC Board meeting, BCB was given one day’s time. After this, there was talk of including another team in the World Cup in their place. Now that Bangladesh itself has decided not to play in the 2026 T20 World Cup, then ICC can include Scotland in the World Cup in their place.

T20 World Cup 2026: The ongoing controversy regarding Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 is deepening. Before this big tournament to be held in India and Sri Lanka, differences between Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and International Cricket Council (ICC) have come to the fore. The Bangladesh government has clearly indicated that it is not ready to go to India and play the match under any kind of pressure.

Nazrul’s big statement regarding T20 World Cup

During the press conference on Tuesday, Asif Nazrul, Sports Advisor to the Bangladesh Government, said that the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has made the demand for changing the venue on completely logical grounds. According to him, in the current situation there are security concerns regarding playing in India, which cannot be ignored. He also clarified that Bangladesh cannot be forced to play in India.

“The venues of the tournament have been changed earlier also”

Asif Nazrul, citing old examples, said that this has happened before also, when a country refused to play in another country due to security reasons and ICC changed the venue. He said, “If this could happen earlier, then now Bangladesh’s demand also cannot be called impractical.”

Speculation about Scotland getting a chance

Amidst this entire controversy, the discussion has also intensified that if Bangladesh withdraws from the T20 World Cup, then Scotland may get a chance in its place. However, Nazrul clarified that he has not received any official information about this and such news is currently based on speculation.

Waiting for ICC’s decision

At present no final decision has come from the ICC. There is not much time left for the tournament to start, so the coming days will be very important. Bangladesh is firm on its stand and is waiting for ICC’s next step, while the eyes of the cricket world are fixed on this big decision.

Bangladesh is not desisting from its antics. BCB had demanded to shift its matches for the T20 World Cup to Sri Lanka. Till now no official statement of ICC has come out on this subject, but Bangladesh Government’s Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul is continuously spewing venom against India.

Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup matches are to be played in Mumbai and Kolkata. But amid the T20 World Cup controversy, Bangladesh demanded to shift its matches to Sri Lanka. After that, some media reports revealed that ICC can shift Bangladesh’s matches to Chennai and Trivandrum. Asif Nazrul has given his reaction on this.

Asif Nazrul said, “I have said earlier also, Bharat means India. We are talking about India, we did not say Kolkata. Our stand is that if you change the venue from Kolkata, then Sri Lanka will be acceptable to us, there will be no problem in that.”

Bangladesh’s lie caught

Recently, in a press conference held in Dhaka, Asif Nazrul had said that he had received a letter from the security team of ICC. According to Nazrul, ICC has acknowledged that Bangladeshi players and fans will be in danger if they come to India.

But according to PTI, an ICC source has rejected all these claims of Bangladesh. The source said that no such discussion has taken place between ICC and BCB. The source also said that talks have taken place between ICC and BCB, but Asif Nazrul’s claim is completely false.

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