With less than a month to go for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, there is still no resolution of the Bangladesh issue. The BCB have made their stance clear on not travelling to India citing security reasons. They have since written to ICC asking for their matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka.
Amid these discussions, Bangladesh sports adviser Asif Nazrul has alleged that ICC has asked the BCB to not include Mustafizur Rahman in the T20 World Cup squad. Nazrul claimed that the world body highlighted 3 major security risks during Bangladesh's visit to India.
"If Mustafizur is included in the Bangladesh team, if supporters of the Bangladesh team move around wearing Bangladesh's national jersey, which is our national jersey and as the election comes closer, the security risk for the Bangladesh team will allegedly increase," he said.
“If the ICC expects us to drop our best bowler, stop our supporters from wearing the national jersey, or delay a national election just to play cricket, then I don’t know of any demand more absurd, impractical or unjustified than this,” Asif Nazrul said as quoted by BDcrictime.
ICC deny Nazrul claim
In a statement, ICC confirmed that the world body had never intended to suggest such measures. As a policy, the ICC does not meddle in player selection or advice supporters on their choice of attire.
"The ICC wishes to be clear that it has never suggested, nor would it suggest, that any team should select or exclude players for security reasons, that supporters should be restricted from wearing national colours, or that domestic democratic processes be altered in order to participate in an ICC event," the world body said in a statement.
