'Won't travel to India'; Bangladesh pulls out of T20 World Cup, accuses ICC of unfair treatment 

NEW DELHI: The Bangladesh Cricket Board has announced that the national team will not take part in the upcoming T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India. The decision comes after the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Bangladesh’s request to move their matches to Sri Lanka, citing security concerns in India. Despite being fully aware that the team could be disqualified from the tournament, representatives of the Bangladesh government and the cricket board said they would not compromise on the safety of the players.

The boycott decision was taken after a crucial meeting attended by national team members and the interim government’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul. Speaking after the meeting, Nazrul said the ICC had failed to treat Bangladesh fairly, and that player safety was more important than cricket. He added that it was a failure of both the hosts and the ICC that a cricket-loving nation like Bangladesh was being forced to stay away from the tournament. Although the ICC had given Bangladesh an additional day to reconsider its stand on playing in India, the board chose to stick to its decision.

The ICC, however, maintained that there was no security threat in India as claimed by Bangladesh. Earlier reports had said that Scotland could replace Bangladesh in the World Cup if they withdrew. The ICC also stated that changing the match schedule without clear and specific security threats would harm the credibility and integrity of ICC tournaments.