We don’t want to play the World Cup at the expense of the country’s dignity: Asif Nazrul

Youth and Sports Advisor Dr. Asif Nazrul said, we (Bangladesh) have qualified for the World Cup with great difficulty. We are a sports-mad, cricket-loving nation. We definitely want to play. But we don't want to play the World Cup at the expense of insulting the nation, our cricketers, our spectators, our journalists - at the expense of their safety, at the expense of the country's dignity. He said these things while briefing reporters after a meeting with the directors of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) at the Secretariat on Wednesday (January 7) afternoon.

Asif Nazrul said, after reading the letter we received from the ICC today, we felt that there is a huge security issue that has arisen in India for Bangladeshi cricketers, which they have not been able to feel. And it seems to me that this is not just a security issue, it is a national humiliation issue. Anyway, we are looking at the security issue in a big way.

He said, I don't want to say anything about the communal situation in India. However, we will not compromise on the security of our cricketers, the security of Bangladesh, and the dignity of Bangladesh. We want to play cricket, the World Cup; we want to play in another host country, Sri Lanka. We are adamant on this position. I hope that we will be able to explain to the ICC why we are adamant on this position and that the ICC will consider our arguments with compassion and impartiality and give us the opportunity to play in the T20 World Cup that we have achieved with great difficulty.

Asif Nazrul further said, our first position is to convince the ICC. We have a strong enough argument. We will convince the ICC with that. Our stand is that we will not compromise on the security, honor, and dignity of Bangladesh. But of course we want to play the Cricket World Cup. We will sit down again and decide according to the next situation. So far, the decision is clear, we will explain to the ICC that there is no environment to play in India. A letter will be sent tonight or tomorrow morning.