Left helpless, Bangladesh players watch a World Cup dream slip away

The hollow smiles worn by Litton Kumar Das and his teammates as they left the team hotel conveyed a sense of resignation. Since the new regime took charge, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has appeared firmly aligned with the authorities.

While the BCB and the government continued to cling to hopes of a late miracle securing Bangladesh's place at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, the reality pointed in the opposite direction. According to sources, the ICC is expected to replace Bangladesh with Scotland after the team refused to travel to India citing security reasons.

The meeting between the cricketers and sports advisor Asif Nazrul became the major talking point across the country. Some hoped the players would be able to impress upon the authorities the significance of a World Cup.

Instead, the meeting unfolded very differently. The cricketers were not called to give their consent but to be informed that their World Cup dream was effectively over, with the government unwilling to change its stance. Bangladesh had sought a relocation of its matches from India to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns.

Players were briefly allowed to speak, and sources confirmed that most were in favour of playing the T20 World Cup. However, their views appeared to have little bearing on the final decision.

"The meeting was called not to give our consent. Rather, we were called so that we are aware of the development in the ongoing crisis. They made up their mind and decided what they will do before coming into the meeting, and it's not like any decision was taken taking our views into consideration," said a cricketer on condition of anonymity.

"They didn't ask. They made the plan directly and said it's not happening. Earlier, they would sit with us and hear us out. But now, they've already said we're not going," he said. "It was a direct order from the government – it's not happening."

Following the meeting, Nazrul told reporters that Bangladesh would not change its stance and accused the ICC of failing to deliver "proper justice", adding that neither the ICC nor the Indian government had taken meaningful steps to address Bangladesh's grievances.

"Cricket is finished. If we don't go, it will be our cricket's loss. Who cares?," said another cricketer.

It was learnt that T20 captain Litton Das and Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto spoke during the meeting and insisted they were ready to play in the tournament.

In response, government and BCB officials highlighted previous incidents involving threats to Bangladeshi players and cited security concerns.

The cricketers were further informed that the BCCI had not contacted them, with officials questioning how a team could be sent under such circumstances.

BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul attempted to offer reassurance, but it had little impact.

"What can he say apart from giving us comfort mentally and we know and understand his situation very well," said the cricketer. "We did give our opinion but we understand from the beginning that they already decided that we're not going to play the World Cup in India."

A member of the team management said he felt sorry for the players, who had prepared extensively for the showpiece event.

"I feel sorry for the cricketers because they are ones who had put up a lot of effort to develop as a formidable T20I unit and you cannot deny our recent results validate the claim," he said. "We can only hope this too shall pass."

For now, the focus of various stakeholders has shifted to the upcoming general election. There is a belief within the cricket fraternity that relations between Bangladesh and India could change under a new government. If so, some hope it could yet herald a new dawn for Bangladesh cricket.