Bangladesh players wait for the third umpire’s decision during the third T20I match against Ireland at the Pir Shreshto Flight Lt Madiyur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram on December 2, 2025. — PCB

LAHORE: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (PCB) has written a second letter to the International Cricket Council (ICC), reiterating its disinclination to visit India for the 2026 T20 World Cup, asking it to refer its case to the Independent Dispute Resolution Panel, sources told Geo News on Friday.

The board reiterated its stance in a fresh letter to cricket’s governing body, two days after a letter rejecting the country’s request to shift their matches outside India in next month’s T20 World Cup.

In the letter, the board stressed that Bangladesh will continue to maintain its stand of not playing any tournament in India. BCB insists it will not send its team to India again, citing security concerns.

The next day, the BCB officials decided on the future of its chairman Aminul Islam, adviser to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Asif Nasrul and several national cricketers – Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmood, Najmul Hossain Santo, Jakar Ali, Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hasan.

Following the meeting, the PCB announced that it would uphold its demand to shift its national men’s cricket team’s T20 World Cup 2026 matches from India to Sri Lanka.

“We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka,” Aminul said. “They gave us a 24-hour ultimatum, but a global body can’t really do that. The ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. That’s their loss.”

“We hope the ICC will give us a chance to play in Sri Lanka, our government has decided not to go to India.”

The announcement came after the board meeting held virtually on January 21, after the ICC formally rejected Bangladesh’s request for a change of venue, sharing that the 20-team tournament will be held from February 7 to March 8 as per the published schedule.

Sohail Imran

Sohail Imran is a Senior Correspondent at Geo News.

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