BCB sends a letter to ICC: Bangladesh won’t play T20 World Cup in India
Sports Reporter :
The exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL is going to take on a bigger shape now. All four of the Tigers’ matches in the league phase of the T20 World Cup are in India.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has written to the ICC stating that Bangladesh will not play there.
BCB was initially supposed to send a letter to the ICC on three issues. In the end, it made one demand to the ICC.
Seven board directors took the new decision regarding the T20 World Cup on Sunday. It was decided that Bangladesh will not play any T20 World Cup matches on Indian soil.
In an email sent to the ICC, the BCB said, ‘It is not possible to send a team to the T20 World Cup in India due to security concerns.’ For this reason, the BCB has applied to move the venue.
In an emergency meeting on Sunday, the BCB Board of Directors reviewed recent developments and expressed serious concern over the security of the national team while matches are scheduled in India.
Following advice from the Bangladesh Government, the Board decided that the team will not travel to India under the current circumstances.
The days of slavery are over: Asif Nazrul Youth and Sports Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul on Sunday expressed strong condemn and protested an instruction of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to remove Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman from Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad.
‘As the adviser in charge of the Sports Ministry, I asked the Bangladesh Cricket Board to explain the entire matter to ICC in written.
The board should inform that where a Bangladeshi cricketer cannot play in India despite being contracted, the entire Bangladeshi cricket team cannot feel safe going to play in the World Cup,’ he wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
‘I have also instructed the board to request that Bangladesh’s World Cup matches should be held in Sri Lanka,” he added.
“We will not accept any insult to Bangladeshi cricket, cricketers and Bangladesh under any circumstances. The days of slavery are over.’
The statement came shortly after Kolkata Knight Riders announced on Saturday they had released the Bangladesh bowler after being told to do so by India’s cricket board.
Shah Rukh Khan’s franchise had purchased Rahman for 9.2 crore Indian rupees at IPL’s Abu Dhabi auction last month.
Meanwhile, Information and Broadcasting Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said “A decision will be taken after reviewing legal aspects of the matter. There is no way to remain silent. We have to respond.”
Rizwana made the remarks at a meeting held at the Secretariat by the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum on Sunday.
Tabith Awal, president of the Bangladesh Football Federation, has expressed strong condemnation in a Facebook post on Sunday on his verified page, Awal described the decision as “deeply disappointing” and “unfair to a world-class sportsman.”
“Mustafizur Rahman has earned his place purely on merit. Targeting him solely for his nationality is a regrettable display of intolerance,” he wrote.
President Tabith also showed his solidarity with Mustafiz, writing: “Stay strong, Mustafizur. The entire nation stands with you.”