BANGLADESH will ask for their matches at next month’s T20 World Cup to be played in Sri Lanka, following the release of a Bangladeshi player from the Indian Premier League after intervention by Indian cricket authorities.
“We will not accept any insult to Bangladeshi cricket, cricketers and Bangladesh under any circumstances,” Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul said in a statement carried by state-run BSS news agency on Sunday.
“The days of slavery are over.”
Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman was released on Saturday by Kolkata Knight Riders after the IPL franchise was “advised” by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to do so amid tensions between the two countries.
Nazrul said he had directed the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to write to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“The board should inform that, where a Bangladeshi cricketer cannot play in India despite being contracted, the entire Bangladeshi cricket team cannot feel safe going to play in the World Cup,” he said.
“I have also instructed the board to request that Bangladesh’s World Cup matches should be held in Sri Lanka.”
‘Dignity and security’
The T20 World Cup begins on February 7 and is co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh are scheduled to play all four of their group matches in India.
Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka under an arrangement allowing India and Pakistan to play at neutral venues in multi-nation tournaments.
Relations between India and Bangladesh deteriorated after a mass uprising in Dhaka in 2024 that removed then prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
India’s foreign ministry last month condemned what it described as “unremitting hostility against minorities” in Bangladesh, while interim leader Muhammad Yunus accused India of exaggerating the violence.
BCB president Aminul Islam Bulbul said the board was weighing its options.
“The dignity and security of our cricketers are our top priorities, and we will take a decision at the appropriate time, keeping these in mind,” he told reporters late Saturday.
Mustafizur, who has previously played in the IPL, was bought at auction in December by Kolkata for more than $1 million.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said Kolkata had been “advised to release” the 30-year-old “considering recent developments”.
The 2026 IPL season begins on March 26.
Nazrul also said he would seek to block IPL broadcasts in Bangladesh.
“I have requested the Information and Broadcasting Adviser to stop the broadcasting of the IPL tournament in Bangladesh,” he said.
Kolkata, which is majority-owned by Shah Rukh Khan, said Mustafizur’s “release has been carried out following due process and consultations”.
The dispute comes days after ties appeared to improve, with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visiting Bangladesh last week.
On Friday, the BCB said India would tour Bangladesh for six white-ball matches in September.
Bangladesh will hold its first elections since the uprising on February 12.
(With inputs from agencies)
