2026 T20 World Cup: According to ESPNcricinfo, the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to move their matches from India to Sri Lanka for the next ICC T20 World Cup 2026 has been denied by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

According to the report, the ICC and BCB had a virtual conversation on Tuesday in which the ICC told the Board that it was turning down the latter’s request to move Bangladesh’s matches outside of India because of security concerns.

The BCB’s senior men’s national cricket team has been informed by the ICC that they must fly to India for their T20 World Cup matches or face losing points, the report said.

It should be mentioned that neither the BCB nor the ICC have released an official statement on the result of Tuesday’s call, which was set up after the BCB wrote in on Sunday requesting that the T20 World Cup 2026 matches between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka be moved, according to ESPNcricinfo.

Bangladesh will play the two-time champion West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 7 to kick off their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. Following the West Indies, Bangladesh will play Italy at the same location on February 9 before returning to Kolkata to play England, the 2022 T20 World Cup winners.

Bangladesh will travel to Mumbai to face Nepal at Wankhede Stadium after their match against England. On February 7, Pakistan and the Netherlands will play in Colombo to kick off the World Cup action.

According to a BCB news statement, the BCB had already officially asked the ICC to move Bangladesh’s matches in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 to locations outside of India, citing “safety and security” concerns for Bangladeshi players.

Due to “growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent,” the BCB announced that the squad would not go to India for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Following the announcement by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) that they had cut Bangladeshi player Muztafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 roster in response to a BCCI directive about atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh, these developments followed.To review recent events regarding the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which India and Sri Lanka are set to host, the Board of Directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) called an emergency meeting today afternoon, according to a BCB announcement.The Board expressed serious concern over the overall conditions surrounding the Bangladesh National Team’s participation in matches scheduled to be played in India after carefully reviewing the situation and taking into account events over the last 24 hours, the statement said.The Board of Directors decided that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current circumstances after carefully evaluating the current circumstances, growing worries about the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India, and taking the Bangladesh Government’s advice into consideration,” the BCB release continued.

Following statements made by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia that the IPL team has been directed by the top cricket body to release Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman “due to the recent developments,” KKR made their choice.Devaijit Saikia told ANI that the BCCI has ordered the KKR team to remove Mustafizur Rahman, a player from Bangladesh, from their roster due to recent events that are occurring worldwide. The BCCI has also stated that if they request a replacement, the BCCI will permit it.

The selection of Mustafizur by KKR for the IPL 2026 season, which was made by the three-time champions for Rs 9.20 crores last December during the IPL auction, caused a significant political backlash in India, especially in light of the recent targeting of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.