By Admin 
Bangladesh on Thursday took a tough stance by refusing to send its national cricket team to next month’s T20 World Cup in India after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected its demand to change the venue of the match. This decision cleared the way for Scotland to take Bangladesh’s place in the tournament.
On Wednesday, the world body had given an ultimatum to Bangladesh that either they should agree to go to India or they will be replaced by some other team. The ICC said there was no threat to the safety of its players, officials or fans in India.
Bangladesh was given time till Thursday to take the decision. The Scotland team is included in the next option on the basis of ranking for the tournament starting from February 7.
However, taking a firm stance, Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul announced after a meeting with the national team players that the ICC’s stance was not acceptable to him.
It is not yet clear whether the ICC has given any information to Cricket Scotland in this matter as its CEO Trudy Lindblad did not comment on it.
Cricket Scotland’s communications chief Charles Patterson said in response to PTI’s query, “We cannot comment on this situation.” If there is any change in circumstances we will issue an official media release on our website. ”
Nazrul said in the press conference and made it clear that the country will not play matches in India. He said, “Although our cricketers have worked hard to qualify for the World Cup, the security threat of playing in India still remains. This concern is not based on any speculative analysis. ”
“We are not confident that they can ensure the safety of our entire team, journalists and viewers,” he said. ”He said, ”We have not given up hope yet. Our team is ready. We hope that the ICC will do justice by considering our real security risks and allowing us to play in Sri Lanka. ”
Bangladesh has to play four matches in India (three in Kolkata and one in Mumbai). The country raised security concerns when fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from the Indian Premier League on the instructions of the Indian Cricket Board due to ‘events happening around him’.
“It is important to weigh the harm caused by not playing the tournament against the potential disaster that could result from pushing players, spectators and journalists into a risky regional political situation,” Nazrul said. This is the government’s decision because it is the country’s responsibility to determine the safety of citizens abroad. ”
The ICC on Wednesday rejected Bangladesh’s security concerns, saying, “In the absence of any independent security findings, it is not possible for the ICC to change the venue of the matches.” Doing so would create serious problems and far-reaching precedent for other teams and fans around the world. This will threaten the impartiality, neutrality and integrity of the ICC’s operations. ”
Nazrul was asked whether the players were included in this decision to boycott tournaments like the World Cup as they had repeatedly sought an amicable solution keeping in mind their welfare.
He said, “We met the players to explain the context of this decision and the government’s reasoning.” Since this was an exclusive conversation, specifics of what the players said will not be shared so they can speak freely, but it appears they understood the situation. ”
He said, “Bangladesh is a cricket loving country. If ICC does not take our demands into consideration then it will be a big loss for world cricket and a failure for the host country. ”
Former captain Tamim Iqbal and current Test captain Nazmul Hussain Shanto were among the prominent players who asked the board and the government to give priority to the welfare of cricketers.
Iqbal was even called an ‘agent of India’ by a senior BCB official because he had suggested that Bangladesh should avoid adopting a tough stance.
In the current situation players may face huge financial losses. BCB director Nazmul Islam had said that the players will not receive any compensation as they have not made any significant achievements in the ICC tournament.
This statement caused huge anger among the players and Islam had to resign from the post of chairman of the finance committee of the board.