Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul - Photo : Collected

DHAKA, Jan 22, 2026 (BSS)— Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul today said there is no possibility of Bangladesh travelling to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup, as the security situation there has not changed.

“There is no scope to change our decision. We believe we did not receive justice from the ICC, but we still hope the ICC will reconsider its decision,” he told reporters after a meeting with Bangladesh cricketers and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials at a city hotel.

He said the meeting with the players was arranged to provide them with a first-hand briefing on the situation following the ICC’s rejection of the BCB’s request to relocate Bangladesh’s matches to Sri Lanka.

“The ICC claims that the security situation in India is good enough to host cricket, but what we see is that the situation remains unchanged. Our security concerns did not arise out of thin air; they stemmed from a real incident,” he said.

Referring to national team pacer Mustafizur Rahman, the adviser added, “One of our players was withdrawn from playing in the IPL because the organisers could not ensure his proper security when faced with pressure from extremist groups.”

“When the security of a single player cannot be guaranteed, how can security be ensured for an entire contingent that includes players, officials, journalists, and other stakeholders?” he questioned.

Asif Nazrul also expressed dissatisfaction with how the ICC handled the issue, stating that the governing body focused on standard security protocols while ignoring the incident that triggered Bangladesh’s grievances.

According to him, neither the ICC nor the Indian government made any effort to address Bangladesh’s security issues.

“There were no outreach, no apology, no explanation of the measures being taken, and no effort to reassure the safety of our players, journalists, or spectators,” he said.