New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday drew a clear line ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup: the tournament will go ahead as planned, and Bangladesh’s matches will stay in India.
In a media release, the ICC said the call was taken after a Board meeting held via video-conference, which was convened to address the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) request to shift its fixtures to Sri Lanka.
According to the ICC, the decision followed multiple rounds of security assessments – including independent reviews – and all reports pointed to the same conclusion: there is no credible threat to Bangladesh players, officials, media personnel or supporters at any of the tournament venues across India.
The ICC’s reasoning was as much about the bigger picture as it was about immediate logistics. It said changing venues at this stage, without a verified security concern, would be impractical and disruptive so close to the tournament.
More importantly, the governing body underlined the precedent such a move could set.
Altering the schedule under pressure, the ICC noted, could open the door for similar demands in future events – potentially weakening the integrity of ICC tournaments and raising questions about the organisation’s neutrality as a global governing body.
The ICC also revealed it attempted to break the deadlock through sustained engagement with the Bangladesh board. It said its management team held several meetings and exchanged multiple correspondences with BCB officials, sharing a detailed breakdown of the security framework in place for the tournament.
That plan, the ICC said, includes layered support from both federal and state law-enforcement agencies.
For now, Bangladesh’s fixtures will go ahead in India, and the tournament timeline remains unchanged.
