'Not at the cost of national humiliation': Bangladesh presses for T20 World Cup venue shift

Asif Nazrul, the Bangladesh government's sports advisor, stated on Wednesday that he would try to convince the International Cricket Council (ICC) to relocate Bangladesh's matches for the upcoming T20 World Cup. He insisted the ICC has failed to grasp the gravity of Bangladesh's security and dignity concerns.

This follows the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) formal request to the ICC for a venue change, citing an inability to travel to India. This stems from the recent controversy surrounding pacer Mustafizur Rahman, after the BCCI asked the Kolkata Knight Riders to release him.

The ICC, in its response, maintained the status quo on Bangladesh's fixtures and indicated it had received no information suggesting security concerns. Nazrul strongly disagreed with this assessment.

"We all agreed that Bangladesh earned qualification for the T20 World Cup through hard work. We are a cricket-crazy nation and we definitely want to play," Nazrul told reporters after a meeting with BCB directors.

"But we do not want to play the World Cup at the cost of national humiliation, at the cost of the security of our cricketers, spectators and journalists, or at the cost of the country's dignity. After reading the ICC's letter, it felt to us that they have not fully understood the serious security situation that has developed in India for Bangladeshi cricketers."

"To me, it does not feel like only a security issue – it feels like an issue of national humiliation as well. When the Indian cricket board itself is telling the Kolkata team that they cannot provide security to Mustafizur, and asking them to drop him – that alone shows there is no environment in India where it is safe to play."

"We do not want to go into the wider communal situation in India. But when it comes to the security of our cricketers and the honour and dignity of Bangladesh – there will be no compromise. We want to play the World Cup, and since there is another host country, Sri Lanka, we want to play there. We are firm on this position."

"Our first stand is to convince the ICC. We have strong arguments… The core principle is that on the question of Bangladesh's security, honour and dignity, there will be no compromise. But we definitely want to play the Cricket World Cup."

Nazrul added that Bangladesh would decide its future course of action based on the ICC's response. A detailed letter outlining their position will be sent to the ICC.

BCB president Aminul Islam (Bulbul) echoed these sentiments, stating the board's concerns extend beyond the players to include journalists, sponsors, and spectators.

"We have played in so many World Cups – have we ever raised such concerns before? It is because we genuinely felt the need this time that we raised it strongly," he said.

"We will explain this to the ICC… There have been similar events in the past due to security issues. The very reason for hybrid tournaments is security."

Aminul also dismissed reports that the ICC has already ruled out moving matches to Sri Lanka.

"There is a propaganda going around that the ICC has said playing in Sri Lanka is not possible. I would call that propaganda – false news. We have had one communication with the ICC. They asked what the issues were, and we informed them. We will now send them in writing what those issues are."