Bangladesh cricket team will have to play its T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India only. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had demanded that their matches be shifted from India to Sri Lanka, which has been rejected by the ICC. Although the final decision on this will be taken by January 10, it is clear that there will be no change in the schedule.

The complete schedule of T20 World Cup 2026 was released in November last year. All matches will be played in 5 cities of India (Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai) and 2 cities of Sri Lanka (Colombo and Kandy). Pakistan will play all its matches in Sri Lanka, while all the group matches of Group B will also be played in Sri Lanka. Bangladesh cricket team is included in Group C, in which they are accompanied by England, West Indies, Nepal and Italy.

All four matches of Bangladesh will be held in 2 cities in India.

Each team has to play 4-4 matches in the group stage. Bangladesh’s first match is with West Indies on 7 February. This match will be held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Bangladesh has to play the first 3 matches at this venue. The team will go to Mumbai for its fourth and last match of the group stage. Bangladesh’s match with Nepal in Wankhede will be held on 17th February.

• 7 February: Bangladesh vs West Indies (Eden Gardens, Kolkata)
• 9 February: Bangladesh vs Italy (Eden Gardens, Kolkata)
• 14 February: Bangladesh vs England (Eden Gardens, Kolkata)
• 17 February: Bangladesh vs Nepal (Wankhede, Mumbai)

Difficult to shift Bangladesh matches to Sri Lanka

Now one month is left for the start of T20 World Cup 2026. This time 20 teams will play in the tournament, all the matches have been decided at a total of 8 venues. If Bangladesh’s matches are shifted to Sri Lanka then other teams will also face problems. Now the booking of hotels etc. of the teams has also been done. Broadcast and other teams have also made preparations, so it is impossible to change the schedule so quickly. The ICC has rejected BCB’s demand, on which a final decision is yet to be taken.

Bangladesh Cricket Board had refused to send India for the T20 World Cup. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not yet given any official decision on this. The tension between BCCI and BCB started when KKR released Mustafizur Rahman on the instructions of BCCI. Former Pakistan cricketer Shahid Afridi has reacted to this entire controversy. He has given a statement in support of Bangladesh.

According to CricketPakistan.com, Shahid Afridi said that the stance of Bangladesh Cricket Board is right and there are logical reasons behind it. Afridi also said that ICC should act impartially on this matter and should not allow any one country to influence the circumstances. Afridi has somewhere or the other taken a dig at India and BCCI through this statement.

This former Pakistan all-rounder also advised the ICC that Bangladesh’s matches should be shifted to another venue, so that fairness and convenience can be ensured for all the countries participating in the World Cup.

Said big thing on Jai Shah

On this subject, Shahid Afridi further said that ICC Chairman Jay Shah is committed to taking cricket to a new level, but the lack of support and consensus has made the situation more complicated. According to the veteran all-rounder, to avoid uncertainties, ICC will have to take a clear and decisive stand on this matter.

This poisonous statement of Shahid Afridi has come at a time when a recent report claimed that the International Cricket Council had mediated the meeting between BCCI and BCB officials. In this meeting, ICC had convinced Bangladesh Cricket Board to reconsider its demand of changing the venue.

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ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will start from February 7, 2026, hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Some other teams including India, South Africa, Australia and England have also announced their World Cup team for this tournament. Five big names are missing among the teams which have announced the names of players for the World Cup. All of them have been dropped. Here we are going to tell you about those 5 big name players, who have been dropped by their teams. He will no longer be seen playing in the T20 World Cup 2026.

These 5 big players dropped from T20 World Cup squad

1. Shubman Gill – India

Team India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has been dropped from India’s T20 World Cup squad. However, before the World Cup, Gill was not only a part of India’s T20 International team but was also the vice-captain, but due to his continuous poor performance in T20 Internationals, he has not been included in the team.

2. Mitchell Owen – Australia

Australia’s star young all-rounder Mitchell Owen has also not been included in the T20 World Cup Australian team. Owen has so far played 13 T20 International matches for Australia. Owen is a brilliant player in this format, who along with fast batting also bowls medium fast.

3. Ryan Rickelton – South Africa

South African wicketkeeper batsman Ryan Rickelton has also not got a place in the South African team for the T20 World Cup. He was a part of the team in the T20 World Cup held in the year 2024. At the same time, he also performed well on Indian pitches while playing for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2025. This season Rickelton had scored a total of 388 runs in 14 matches.

4. Tristan Stubbs – South Africa

South Africa’s star middle order batsman Tristan Stubbs has also not been able to make his place in the South African team for the T20 World Cup 2026. Stubbs has performed well while playing for Delhi Capitals in the last two seasons of IPL. Stubbs was also a part of the South African team in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

5. Liam Livingstone – England

England’s experienced all-rounder Liam Livingstone has also not been included in England’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. Livingstone is known for his explosive batting and hitting long sixes, apart from this, he also bowls. Livingstone has good experience of Indian pitches from playing in IPL, which could perhaps have been useful to England in the World Cup.

Bangladesh wants its matches in the T20 World Cup 2026 to be held outside India. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has refused to send its team to India citing security reasons. Pakistan’s matches are already to be held in Sri Lanka, now if Bangladesh’s matches are also not held in the host country i.e. India, will BCCI suffer any loss from this?

Will BCCI suffer loss?

First of all it is important to understand that T20 World Cup 2026 is an ICC event. The income from tickets, sponsorships and broadcasts in events organized by the International Cricket Council does not go directly to the BCCI, even if it is the host country of the World Cup. The income generated from the event is maintained by ICC Business Corporation. The role of the host board i.e. BCCI will be limited to the organization and operation of the T20 World Cup.

BCCI’s income through T20 World Cup 2026 comes from match day surplus and sponsorship. Because of this, if Bangladesh matches are shifted out of India, there will not be much difference to BCCI’s earnings. Even if BCCI suffers a loss, it will be limited to match day economics.

Since the schedule of T20 World Cup has been released. The accommodation and flights of players, coaching and other support staff and other officials are booked well in advance. Bangladesh’s matches are to be played in Kolkata and Mumbai as per the current schedule. Now if Bangladesh’s matches are shifted, then as per available information ICC bears the expenses like hotel booking and air travel for the players and other staff.

In such a situation, if Bangladesh’s matches are shifted outside India, then the players of the teams playing with it will also have to travel to a different venue. This may loosen the pockets of ICC to some extent and not of BCCI or the cricket board of that country.

According to the current schedule of T20 World Cup 2026, Bangladesh has been placed in Group C along with England, Italy, Nepal and West Indies. Bangladesh’s first match will be with West Indies on 7 February.

The 2026 T20 World Cup will start from 7 February and the final will be played on 8 March. Before the start of the World Cup, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has demanded that all its matches to be held in India should be shifted. Due to the safety of players and officials, BCB has made this demand from the International Cricket Council.

This decision of BCB has come at a time when Kolkata Knight Riders had expelled Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman on the instructions of BCCI. After that, Bangladesh Cricket Board has issued an official statement demanding to move its T20 World Cup matches out of India.

Bangladesh Cricket Board says that it wants a safe environment for its players and officials. The board said that in view of the current conditions in India, it demanded that its team’s World Cup matches should not be held in India on the orders of the Bangladesh government and also expressed the hope that the ICC will understand this problem and find a solution soon.

Big decision on Mustafizur Rahman too

Bangladesh Cricket Board has also taken a big decision on fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman. Rahman, whom KKR has released from its IPL 2026 squad on the instructions of BCCI. BCB had earlier given No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Rahman to play in IPL, but after his release by KKR, BCB has canceled Mustafizur Rahman’s NOC with immediate effect.