Sports
Cannot be pressurised to play in India, says Bangladesh sports adviser
DHAKA: Bangladesh government’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul on Tuesday reiterated that under no condition would the national team travel to India for the T20 World Cup, despite an ultimatum from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on deciding its participation by January 21, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.
If BCB remains adamant on not travelling to India for the 20-team tournament, Scotland is likely to replace Bangladesh as per current rankings.
“I am not aware that Scotland will be included in our place,” Asif told reporters. “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.
“In the past, there are examples that Pakistan said that they will not travel to India and ICC changed the venue. We have asked to change the venue on logical ground and we cannot be pressurised to play in India by putting illogical pressure.”
The standoff was triggered by the removal of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from Kolkata Knight Riders’ roster for this year’s Indian Premier League on Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) instructions for unspecified “developments all around”.
Citing security concerns and national pride, the BCB responded by announcing its national team won’t travel to India for its group stage games in Kolkata and Mumbai.
BCB wants to play each of its four group-stage matches in Sri Lanka, where the marquee India-Pakistan clash will also be held as per the mutually agreed arrangement for ICC events until 2027.
Bangladesh is currently placed in Group ‘C’ along with the West Indies, Italy, England and Nepal.
In its last meeting with ICC officials in Dhaka, the BCB had proposed swapping positions with Ireland in Group ‘B’, which features tournament co-hosts Sri Lanka, Australia, Oman and Zimbabwe.
Such a move would allow Bangladesh to remain in Sri Lanka for entirety of its group-stage engagements.
While the BCB considers it unsafe for its players to travel to India, the ICC’s risk assessment report did not flag any specific or direct threat to the team’s participation in the World Cup.
The bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have deteriorated in recent months, exacerbated by the reported killings of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal and current Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto have cautioned against a very hard-line approach on the controversial subject, with the former saying that decisions taken today would have repercussions 10 years down the line.
Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2026
The Pakistan cricket team on Monday arrived in Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, which is set to begin on February 7.
In a post on X, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that a 15-player squad had arrived in the country.
“The 15-player national squad includes Captain Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Naeef, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, and Usman Tariq,” the PCB said in an earlier post, the informed of the squad’s department for the global event’s venue.
In the latest update about the aquad’s arrival in Colombo, the board said the team would rest on Monday and Tuesday.
“The team will play a warm-up match against Ireland on Feb 4,” PCB added.
The T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is set to begin on Feb 7.
On Sunday, the government gave the go-ahead for Pakistan’s participation in the tournament, but barred it from playing against arch-rival India on February 15.
The announcement came amid uncertainty regarding a possible boycott of the tournament over Bangladesh’s withdrawal following tensions with India.
A government source told Dawn that Pakistan had refused to play against India to express solidarity with Bangladesh. According to the government source, the primary reason for boycotting the match with India was the ICC’s “biased decision” towards Bangladesh.
BULAWAYO: India completed the semi-final line-up for the ICC Under-19 World Cup with a comprehensive 58-run win over Pakistan in Bulawayo on Sunday.
The victory in the final Super Six match at the Queens Sports Club means the Indian colts head into the knockouts unbeaten and as Group 2 toppers.
After a late surge helped them to 252 in 49.5 overs, India put in a clinical performance in the field to dismiss Pakistan for 194 in 46.2 overs.
India joined Australia, England and Afghanistan into the final four. The Ayush Mhatre-led side face Afghanistan in the semi-finals in Harare on Wednesday. The first semi-final, between Australia and England, takes place in Bulawayo on Tuesday.
Put into bat, India powered past 250 thanks to the acceleration provided by the lower order in the last 10 overs.
With a spot in the semi-final on line, India were expecting another blockbuster innings from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Though the left-hander gave the team a brisk start, striking five fours and a six as he motored to 30, he was living dangerously. After two close calls, Sooryavanshi fell to a shorter delivery from Mohammad Sayyam, with a bottom-edge carrying to wicket-keeper Hamza Zahoor.
Starting with Sooryavanshi, India lost three and in the space of four balls. While Sayyam also dismissed India captain Ayush Mhatre, Abdul Subhan bowled over opener Aaron George to reduce India to 47-3.
In their previous match in Bulawayo, India had scored a mammoth 352-8 against Zimbabwe. But on Sunday, the ball wasn’t coming on to the bat as well and stayed low. Vedant Trivedi led India’s fightback with 68. His 62-run fourth-wicket partnership with Vihaan Malhotra (21) helped steer India clear of immediate trouble. Trivedi also put on handy stands with Abhigyan Kundu and RS Ambrish.
After the middle order had kept the scoreboard ticking, the lower order provided the late flourish. Kanishk Chouhan (35 off 29) and Khilan Patel (21 off 15) helped India notch 71 runs in the last 10 overs, lifting the score to 252.
For Pakistan, Subhan dismissed Chouhan and Patel to finish with 3-33 in 9.5 overs.
To qualify for the semi-final at India’s expense, Pakistan needed to chase down the target within 33.4 overs; otherwise, if the innings ended with a six to reach 258, they had until 34.3 overs to get there.
Pakistan showed some early intent, scoring 13 runs off the second over. It seemed their chances hinged on Sameer Minhas, but India were able to send the star opener back fairly quickly. He was trapped leg before wicket by Henil Patel.
Following the early setback, Pakistan never showed any urgency to make a run for the semi-final spot. Hamza Zahoor (42), Usman Khan (66) and captain Farhan Yousuf (38) hung in there gamely even as runs slowed down to a trickle.
Chouhan conceded 30 runs off his 10 overs and claimed the wicket of Zahoor and was named the player-of-the-match. Skipper Mhatre claimed three wickets for 21 in his overs while Khilan Patel got 3-35.
Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2026
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