Clear Message from Bulbul: Not India, Sri Lanka Is the Venue

Bangladesh is unwilling to play the T20 World Cup in India due to security concerns. In the latest ICC Board meeting, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was given a 24-hour ultimatum. However, the BCB has remained firm in its previous stance. Following a meeting between the Sports Adviser and the players, BCB President Aminul Islam reaffirmed that position in strong terms. He said Bangladesh wants to play in the World Cup, but not in India, and that they will continue to fight to play the matches in Sri Lanka.

Explaining the context of the previous day’s ICC meeting, Aminul Islam Bulbul told the media on Thursday at Hotel InterContinental,
**‘We will once again try today to inform the ICC of what other options are available. We take great pride in Bangladesh cricket. But we are very skeptical about world cricket. Everyone among us believed that the ICC had accepted our application. But even after Bangladesh has been given an ultimatum in this situation, we will continue to make our best efforts.’**

He further added,
**‘If a cricket-crazy country like Bangladesh does not play in this World Cup, the ICC will be missing out on something big. At a time when India is trying to host the Commonwealth Games, if a populous and cricket-mad country like Bangladesh does not participate, it seems like a major failure for the organizers.’**

Despite the ICC setting a deadline, Bulbul said,
**‘We will continue to try in our own way; we have not given up yet. We will contact the ICC regarding a few more issues and keep trying so that our boys can play in the World Cup.’**

He then reiterated Bangladesh’s firm stance on not traveling to India, saying,
**‘We have only one demand—we want to play in the World Cup. At this moment, we do not want to go to India; we want to play in Sri Lanka. Our team is ready.’**