BCB awaits ICC reply as speculation grows
Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB's) plea to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to relocate its ICC Men's T20 World Cup matches from India has sparked widespread speculation among officials, players, stakeholders and fans, with all pondering what will happen next.
On Sunday, the BCB formally wrote to the ICC, informing them it won't send the national team to India for the tournament amid "growing concerns regarding the safety and security of the Bangladesh contingent in India" and "considering the advice from the Bangladesh Government".
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. As of Monday, the ICC is yet to respond and sources indicate that cricket's global governing body is likely to issue an official statement within a day or two.
The ICC now faces a choice, with a few possible courses of action.
The ICC could accept Bangladesh's request, in which case the Tigers could possibly play their matches in Sri Lanka -- joint hosts of the tournament alongside India.
Some reports online have claimed that the ICC is heading down this path. However, a BCB director, requesting to remain anonymous, isn't convinced.
"How can the ICC agree so quickly? We sent the letter on Sunday [a holiday]. So, reports of an agreement are just rumours," he said.
The Daily Star attempted to contact ICC officials regarding their position but did not receive any response.
If the ICC rejects the BCB's request and the board remains firm in its position, Bangladesh will not feature in the global event and one of two scenarios will unfold.
The tournament could end up becoming a 19-team event, with Bangladesh's Group C opponents -- the West Indies, England, Italy and Nepal -- getting walkovers.
There is precedence for this in World Cups. In the 1996 World Cup, Sri Lanka received walkovers from Australia and the West Indies, who didn't travel to Sri Lanka over security concerns. During the 2003 World Cup, England and New Zealand skipped their matches in Zimbabwe and Kenya respectively for similar reasons, resulting in walkovers.
The ICC could also replace Bangladesh with another team. Australia had opted out of the 2016 Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh just 22 days before it began and ICC named Ireland as their replacement. Zimbabwe had also pulled out from the 2009 T20 World Cup a year prior and were replaced by Scotland.
The BCB could still revert its stance and participate as per the original schedule, but it's unlikely to happen unless the government changes its directive.
"As the government has taken a stance, we are bound to follow it. We will probably hear from the ICC tomorrow [today]," said the BCB director.
However, former BCB general secretary Syed Ashraful Haque, who previously served as CEO of the Asian Cricket Council, sees the situation differently.
"In this case, I believe the Indian government will say that they will provide 'head-of-state' level security for Bangladesh. Then the ball will come again to our court. Then we will decide whether we will travel or not," Ashraful told The Daily Star over the phone from Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
"Based on my experience, with only one month remaining before the tournament, relocating venues is an extremely uphill task.
"Moreover, if Bangladesh does not play -- or if the ICC refuses relocation and Bangladesh opt out -- the board is unlikely to receive its share of World Cup revenue. This could also lead to direct conflict with the BCCI." All eyes are now on the ICC's decision, which can either resolve the uncertainty or trigger further discord.
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