Interim government seeks Pakistan’s help on World Cup issue!

Sports Desk

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which is trying to change the venue of the T20 World Cup, is not in a hopeful position. They are in a lot of trouble as they are unable to present their arguments in the dispute with the ICC. In such a situation, the World Cup will have to go to India, otherwise the World Cup may not be played at all. In such a situation, the extreme right-wing interim ruling group of Bangladesh has sought help from the Pakistani government. This has been reported by Pakistani media.

Pakistani media outlet GeoSuper reported that the Bangladesh government has reached out to Pakistan for support on security issues. Sources indicated that if Bangladesh’s concerns are not properly addressed, it could affect the tournament’s preparations. Pakistan stressed that no country should be pressured or threatened to fulfill its hosting responsibilities and assured its neighbors of full support in this regard.

GeoSuper wrote that Pakistan has said that it will reconsider its participation in the World Cup. However, the PCB has not said anything about this. GeoSuper did not comment on the news, which quoted sources.

On January 11, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expressed its interest in hosting the matches in Bangladesh. Even though Sri Lanka is the co-host of the World Cup, the mention of Pakistan there is a bit of a joke.

After dropping Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL, the BCB refused to go to India to play in the World Cup. They suddenly cited security concerns on the orders of the interim government’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul. However, the ICC’s independent security analysis team found no truth in Bangladesh’s claim. An ICC representative visited Bangladesh on Saturday to meet on this issue. No solution was reached at that meeting.

Bangladesh proposed to the ICC to change their group. They discussed with Ireland whether the group could be changed. However, Cricket Ireland (CI) has clarified that the ICC will not move Ireland’s group matches from Sri Lanka. Through this, they have denied the possible news of a group change with Bangladesh. Earlier, it was reported that the BCB had requested a group change due to concerns about traveling to India. A Cricket Ireland official confirmed, “We have received specific assurances that there will be no change to our original schedule. We will definitely play the group matches in Sri Lanka.” As per
the
current schedule, Bangladesh is in Group ‘B’ with West Indies, England, Nepal and Italy. Their matches are scheduled to be held in Kolkata and Mumbai. On the other hand, Ireland is in Group ‘C’ with co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Zimbabwe and Oman, all of whose matches will be held in Sri Lanka.
The BCB is said to have discussed the possibility of changing the group with ICC officials in Dhaka on Saturday to reduce logistical challenges. However, the proposal did not receive much support from the ICC or Cricket Ireland. The ICC delegation consisted of Gaurav Saxena, general manager of events and corporate communications, and Andrew F. Grave, general manager of the integrity unit. The BCB delegation was led by president Aminul Islam Bulbul.

As per the current schedule, Bangladesh will play their first three group matches in Kolkata—against West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9 and England on February 14. They will then conclude their group stage with a match against Nepal in Mumbai on February 17. The 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.