KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has explained the rejection of Bangladesh journalists’ accreditation applications for the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, international media reported on Tuesday.
Earlier this week, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) media committee chairman Amzat Hossain confirmed that the applications of around 130 to 150 Bangladeshi journalists who had applied for accreditation had been rejected.
“As far as I know, all Bangladeshi journalists have been rejected. Around 130 to 150 journalists have applied this year, but none have been approved,” said Amzat.
Several journalists said that a small number of Bangladeshi photojournalists had received approval emails on January 20 and 21 and that their approvals would later be revoked.
“On January 20, I received a letter of approval from the ICC media department, which included a letter of visa support. But today I received another email saying my application was rejected,” said Mir Farid, a local Bangladeshi journalist.
The development comes days after the ICC announced that it would replace Bangladesh with Scotland for the 2026 T20 World Cup following the former’s refusal to travel to India, which co-hosts the tournament with Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.
However, according to recent developments, the apex body has started reworking the process of accrediting Bangladeshi journalists despite not having a national team in the 20-team tournament.
“As there has been a change in the number of requests and schedule, the process is being reworked. Acknowledgment lists are being prepared accordingly,” ICC sources told an Indian news agency.
The sources further mentioned that the sanctioned number of accredited journalists per ICC tournament is 40 and they are selected on the recommendations of their respective cricket boards.
“If you go by the country’s quota, you cannot cross 40. The ICC goes by the home board recommendations and invites applications accordingly,” sources said.