The Bangladesh Cricket Board have refused to send their national team to India for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, citing the safety and well-being of the players.

The development comes after the deteriorating political ties between the two countries, which were sparked by BCCI instructions to the Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman.

Bangladesh are set to play their T20 World Cup matches in Kolkata and Mumbai. With just a month to go for the start of the tournament, the BCB has written to ICC, refusing to travel to India for the global event.

“Following a thorough assessment of the prevailing situation and the growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India and considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government, the Board of Directors resolved that the Bangladesh National Team will not travel to India for the tournament under the current conditions,” the BCB said in a statement.

“In light of this decision, the BCB has formally requested the International Cricket Council (ICC), as the event authority, to consider relocating all of Bangladesh’s matches to a venue outside India.”

The BCB’s statement followed that of Bangladesh’s sports advisor, Asif Nazrul, who backed the board’s decision to refuse travel to India.

“The BCB has decided not to send the Bangladesh team to India for the World Cup,” he wrote on his official Facebook page. “We welcome this decision taken in the context of the radical communal policies of the Indian cricket board.”

The BCB directors had participated in two video conference meetings over the last 24 hours. The BCB reconvened on Sunday afternoon with 17 directors meeting at 1 PM local time.

India said that they are unable to provide security for one player, so how can they give security for the whole team? We had to make the decision considering not just the players and support staff,” a BCB official said. “We have to think about the fans and journalists who will travel to India. We can’t play in India. We can play in Sri Lanka.”

Bangladesh will play their opening match against the West Indies on February 07 at Eden GardensKolkata.