Bangladesh sports advisor Asif Nazrul warns ICC against BCCI pressure, rejects venue conditions for T20 World Cup.
Bangladesh’s sports advisor Asif Nazrul on Tuesday said that if the International Cricket Council ‘bows to pressure’ from BCCI and tries to impose pressure on the Bangladesh Cricket Board by setting unreasonable conditions, the country will not accept those.
Asif also dismissed speculation that Scotland could replace Bangladesh in the showpiece if they opt out, reiterating that the team is refusing to play in India over security concerns and has asked the ICC to move its games to co-host Sri Lanka.
Over the weekend, the BCB held talks with ICC officials in Dhaka to resolve the impasse, but no agreement was reached after the board requested a venue change, citing the BCCI’s directive to IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman amidst prevailing political tensions between the two nations.
According to a report in Cricbuzz, ICC has set January 21 as the deadline to resolve the matter, as they are running out of time.
If Bangladesh were to be replaced by Scotland, the highest-ranked team that couldn’t qualify, they would need to be given at least 15 days to prepare.
“I am not aware that Scotland will be included in our place (in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup). If the ICC bows to pressure from the Indian Cricket Board and tries to impose pressure on us by setting unreasonable conditions, we will not accept those conditions,” Nazrul said while speaking to the media.