Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes that the decision to travel to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2026 rests solely with the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Notably, the BCB has opted not to send their players to India for the global tournament after the BCCI asked for the removal of Mustafizur Rahman from playing in the Indian Premier League, in the aftermath of ongoing communal cross-border violence.
Harbhajan has opined that the decision to not travel to India rests solely with the Bangladesh authorities, and since the matches can easily be shifted to co-hosts Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council (ICC) can make arrangements accordingly.
The former India cricketer has also opined that the situation of communal violence in Bangladesh is rather unfortunate.
“Due to the various events that have taken place in the past few days, Bangladesh does not want to come to India. Whatever happened in Bangladesh is wrong. ICC needs to make a decision on their request. We welcome everyone to India, but whether they (Bangladesh) want to come here or not is their choice,” Harbhajan was quoted as saying by Tribune India.
The Bangla Tigers, placed in Group C of the league stage, were supposed to play three of their matches in India — all at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. However, they have filed a formal request with the organizers to arrange a makeshift of the venues. The BCCI, however, may not have a part to influence the decision taken by the ICC.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had made it clear via a media statement that Kolkata Knight Riders will not be allowed to field Mustafizur for the upcoming IPL 2026, following which, the franchise acted as per the instructions. BCB did not wholly welcome the decision to not allow a Bangladeshi player on political grounds, and thus, has opted not to play the World Cup in its neighbouring land.
“Due to the recent developments which is going on all across, BCCI has instructed the franchise KKR to release one of their players, Mustafizur Rahman of Bangladesh, from their squad, and BCCI has also said that if they ask for any replacement, BCCI is going to allow that replacement,” Saikia had stated earlier.
The T20 World Cup 2026 is roughly over a month away, where Bangladesh are slated to play their first match against the West Indies on February 7. After playing against the Caribbeans, they were also supposed to face Italy and England in Kolkata. However, it will now be interesting to see what last-minute changes are made to the original scheduling of the twenty-team event.
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