Bangladesh have effectively withdrawn from T20 World Cup 2026. This development wasn't unexpected, considering the adamant stance of the Bangladesh government and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) regarding the team's travel to India. Once the International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected the security threat claims from BCB, relocation of matches for Bangladesh was unlikely to happen.
On Wednesday (January 21), ICC officially announced their decision of finding a replacement team if Bangladesh were unwilling to travel to India. It was the final nail on the coffin on the relocation topic and while the ICC gave a 24 hours extension for Bangladesh to re-consider their stance, no change was realistically expected.
However, there was an emergency meeting held by the Bangladesh government with the BCB and senior players of the World Cup squad. While the meeting was supposedly held to have a frank discussion, reports now reveal that the players had no say at all in the final decision. In fact, they were just invited to the meeting to be informed about the incoming withdrawal from the World Cup.
Bangladesh's players were keen to play the tournament and understandably so. Which is why the lack of consideration from the government and BCB hurt them. Players were barely allowed to speak and even the opinions of those who spoke were muted by the strong words of the politicans.
"They didn't ask. They made the plan directly and said it's not happening. Earlier, they would sit with us and hear us out. But now, they've already said we're not going," said a player who didn't want to be named.
"The thing is, Bangladesh's government call was already made and nothing else but that's the real story. It was a direct order from the government - it's not happening."
Playing a World Cup in any format is the ultimate dream for any cricketer. Bangladesh, like any other team in the world, were preparing meticulously for T20 World Cup 2026 and now have their dreams broken for no fault of their own. It could seem like the BCB was too adamant in its stance but cricketers know that all the decisions were taken from authorities in the government.
"What can he (BCB boss) say apart from giving us comfort mentally and we know and understand his situation very well," said another anonymous cricketer.
"We did give our opinion but we understand from the beginning that they already decided that we're not going to play the World Cup in India. The meeting was called not to give our consent as it was made out to be initially. Rather, we were called so that we are aware of the development in the ongoing crisis. They made up their mind and decided what they will do before coming into the meeting, and it's not like any decision was taken taking our views into consideration."