Bangladesh Cricket Team Won't Play in India for T20 World Cup, Says BCB

Bangladesh has decided not to travel to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup, citing safety and security concerns for its players. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has formally requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to relocate the team's matches to a venue outside India. This decision comes after Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman was released by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), sparking widespread criticism in Bangladesh. The BCB has stated that it will not compromise on the safety and well-being of its players and officials. The BCB's statement came two hours after Bangladesh's sports adviser Asif Nazrul backed the board's decision of refusing to travel to India. "The BCB has decided not to send the Bangladesh team to India for the World Cup," he wrote on his official Facebook page. "We welcome this decision taken in the context of the radical communal policies of the Indian cricket board." Cricket understands that the BCB took the decision after much deliberation, and has approached the ICC for a comment. The BCB directors had sat in two video-conference meetings over the last 24 hours. The first was on Saturday evening, and understands that a concrete decision didn't emerge from it. The BCB reconvened on Sunday afternoon with 17 directors meeting at 1pm local time, and made the final decision to write to the ICC about their concerns and refusal to travel to India. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7, with Bangladesh set to play its group stage matches in India. The ICC is yet to respond to the BCB's request.