Bangladesh had refused to go to India to play the T20 World Cup due to security issues. There was a three-way fight between India-Bangladesh-ICC over this. Finally, a solution came. After the ICC board meeting, it was announced that Bangladesh will have to go to India to play the World Cup. Otherwise, the highest cricket body will continue the tournament with an alternative team for Bangladesh.

The ICC held a meeting today to resolve the World Cup venue dilemma. There, they informed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) that if Bangladesh refuses to tour India to play their matches in the 2026 T20 World Cup, then another team will be included in the tournament instead of Bangladesh. Following this position, a vote was held in the ICC Board, where a majority of the board members voted in favor of including an alternative team. At the same time, the BCB has been given one more day to reconsider its position on playing in India and inform the ICC.

If Bangladesh withdraws, Scotland could be included in Bangladesh’s place in Group C of the World Cup. Scotland did not qualify directly for the 2026 T20 World Cup after finishing fourth in the European qualifiers behind the Netherlands, Italy and Jersey.

The meeting was attended by directors from all full ICC member nations. Apart from ICC Chairman Jay Shah, the meeting was attended by BCB President Aminul Islam, BCCI Secretary Debjit Saikia, Sri Lanka Cricket President Shammi Silva, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Cricket Australia Chairman Mike Baird, Zimbabwe Cricket President Tavenga Mukulani, Cricket West Indies President Kishore Shallow, Cricket Ireland Chairman Brian McNice, Cricket New Zealand Representative Roger Twiz, England and Wales Cricket Board Chairman Richard Thompson, Cricket South Africa Representative Mohammad Musaji and Cricket Afghanistan Chairman Mirwais Ashraf.

Earlier, news came on Wednesday night that the PCB’s governing body had sent a letter to the ICC supporting the BCB’s strong stance. The matter was confirmed by sports-based website ESPN Cricinfo. Their report said that the BCB had demanded to move its matches to Sri Lanka due to security concerns in India. The meeting is to resolve the issue.

There is not much time left for the World Cup to start. This mega event will start on the soil of India and Sri Lanka from February 7. As per the pre-scheduled schedule, Bangladesh will play three matches in the league stage in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. According to the schedule, Bangladesh is scheduled to play the first three matches in Kolkata on February 7, 9 and 14 and the last match in Mumbai on February 17.