The International Cricket Council (ICC) has ruled out relocating Bangladesh’s matches from India, reaffirming that the tournament will proceed as scheduled after a detailed review of security and logistical considerations.
The decision was taken during an ICC Board meeting held via video conference on Wednesday, convened specifically to address concerns raised by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The BCB had earlier requested that its team’s fixtures be shifted to Sri Lanka, citing apprehensions related to player participation.
According to the ICC, the request was examined in depth, with the Board taking into account multiple security evaluations, including independent assessments. All reports unanimously concluded that there is no credible threat to the safety of Bangladesh players, team officials, media personnel or spectators at any of the tournament venues in India.
The ICC also noted that making venue or schedule changes at such a late stage would be impractical and disruptive. Officials stressed that altering fixtures without any verified security risk could establish an unhealthy precedent, potentially undermining the integrity and neutrality of future ICC events.
In the lead-up to the decision, ICC management held extensive discussions with the BCB in an effort to resolve the matter amicably. These engagements included the sharing of comprehensive security plans, outlining multi-layered arrangements involving both federal and state law enforcement agencies, as well as formal assurances from host authorities.
In an official statement, an ICC spokesperson said the governing body had engaged in “sustained and constructive dialogue” with the BCB over several weeks, with the aim of ensuring Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament. The spokesperson emphasised that all security reviews consistently found no verifiable risk to the Bangladesh team in India.
The statement further pointed out that the BCB continued to link its participation to an isolated and unrelated issue involving one of its players and a domestic league, a matter the ICC said had no connection to the tournament’s security framework or participation conditions.
Reiterating its stance, the ICC stated that venue and scheduling decisions are based strictly on objective threat assessments, host guarantees and the agreed terms that apply equally to all 20 competing nations. In the absence of any independent findings indicating a genuine security concern, the ICC said it could not justify relocating fixtures, warning that such a move would have significant logistical implications and raise serious governance challenges.
