ICC officials to arrive in Dhaka on Saturday, government representatives may also be present

ICC officials to arrive in Dhaka on Saturday

Two senior officials of the International Cricket Council (ICC) are arriving in Dhaka to resolve the impasse over Bangladesh's participation in the T20 World Cup to be held in India. They will meet with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday (January 17). Bangladesh government representatives may also be present at the meeting.

The BCB has taken a firm stand demanding that its matches in the T20 World Cup to be held in India from February 7 to March 8 be shifted to another country. Despite repeated requests from the ICC, the board has not agreed to reconsider the decision. As a result, cricket's highest governing body has taken the initiative to hold direct talks to resolve the issue.

Earlier, it was learned that the video conference talks between the two sides almost reached a deadlock last Wednesday. The talks almost collapsed when BCB President Aminul Islam Bulbul expressed dissatisfaction in the meeting. Even then, the ICC contacted the BCB again to continue trying to reach a compromise.

The two main reasons for this crisis are the security concerns of the Bangladesh team in India and the controversy surrounding Mustafizur Rahman. The ICC's security assessment has identified the threat level in India as low to medium, which is not unusual according to the organization. Rather, the assessment says that the risk level for players in Bangladesh is relatively high.

The ICC representatives will try to convince the BCB that as a cricketing nation, Bangladesh is an important part of the ICC and the global cricket system. However, at the same time, the interests and security of the remaining 19 countries participating in the tournament are equally important. The ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) believe that changing the venue or amending the schedule at the last minute will set a negative precedent for future international tournaments.

The BCB, citing a part of the security report, said that in a hypothetical situation, if communal violence breaks out in India, the players of the Bangladesh team could be at risk. Similar concerns were expressed about the safety of Mustafizur Rahman. The meeting also discussed the comments of some BJP and Shiv Sena leaders. However, the ICC and BCCI said that if the threat level increases, security measures will be strengthened accordingly.

The ICC has said that no team can withdraw from the tournament based on mere speculation or hypothetical situations. For example, it is said that a pro-Palestinian rally in Paris does not mean that France becomes unsafe for hosting any sports event. Notably, the BCB has not yet officially shared its own security report with the ICC or the BCCI.

Earlier, Kolkata Knight Riders bought Mustafizur Rahman for Rs 9.2 crore in the IPL auction. However, the franchise dropped him from the squad on the BCCI's orders due to the controversy surrounding allegations of atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh. It was after this incident that the BCB made public the security concerns surrounding the World Cup in India.

BCB wrote to ICC expressing security concerns on the instructions of Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Nazrul. Later, a second letter was sent with the video and report published in the Indian media. The ICC said that this was not an official letter regarding the change of venue, but an internal note regarding the risk assessment.

The organization's Chief Legal Officer, Chief Security Officer and Chief Executive were present on behalf of the ICC in the video call. BCB was represented by President Aminul Islam, Vice Presidents Md. Sakhawat Hossain and Faruk Ahmed, Cricket Operations Committee Chairman Nazmul Abedin Fahim and Chief Executive Nizam Uddin Chowdhury.

Meanwhile, BCB Director Iftekhar Rahman Mithu said that the ICC delegation will arrive in Dhaka on Saturday (January 17) evening and the meeting may be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. He said, we hope that the problem will be resolved through discussions.

Bangladesh will play three of their four group matches in the T20 World Cup in Kolkata on February 7, 9 and 14 against the West Indies, Italy and England. They will play their final group match against Nepal in Mumbai.

Cricbuzz