Bangladesh’s Tanzim Hasan Sakib, center without cap, celebrates with teammates the dismissal of South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match between Bangladesh and South Africa at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Westbury, New York, Monday, June 10, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Amid the ongoing row over Bangladesh’s stance of refusing to play its T20 World Cup matches in India due to “security concerns”, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday (January 21, 2026) said that the matches for the Men’s Bangladesh team will be played in India and the tournament will proceed as scheduled.
The ICC said in a statement that security assessments and independent reviews indicate there is no threat to Bangladesh players, media, officials and fans in India.
“The ICC board noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events…”
Bangladesh are slated to play all four of its group-stage matches in India, with the first three scheduled in Kolkata and the remaining one in Mumbai. However, the Bangladesh Cricket Board, supported by its government, has remained adamant and sought a shift of its matches to co-hosts Sri Lanka.
(with inputs from Reuters and PTI)
Published – January 21, 2026 06:45 pm IST
