Bangladesh opts against sending players to India for T20 World Cup
Wants matches to be shifted to Sri Lanka
Dhaka: In the wake of the controversy regarding Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman’s ouster from the Indian Premier League (IPL) contract by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) amid increased tension between the neighboring nations over the recent cases of lynching in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided against sending its players to India for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
It has also now been confirmed that, while the BCB is not pulling out of the World Cup, it no longer finds it safe to send its players to India and wants the World Cup matches to be shifted from India to Sri Lanka.
Asif Nazrul, an advisor to Bangladesh and overseer of the country’s Youth and Sports Ministry, had posted on Facebook also confirmed that the BCB had decided against travelling to India for the T20 World Cup. “Bangladesh will not go to India to play the World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has taken this decision today. We welcome this decision, which has been taken in the context of the aggressive communal policies of the Indian Cricket Board,” he said.
The KKR, which had added the name of the 30-year-old left-arm pacer into its list of players for Rs 9.2 crore, had released the cricketer as instructed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Nazrul, therefore, expressed his apprehension regarding the safety of the other players in India and supported a change of venue for the matches.
“I have instructed the Cricket Control Board to submit a written explanation of the entire matter to the ICC. The Board should clearly state that when a Bangladeshi cricketer, despite being under contract, is unable to play in India, the Bangladesh national team cannot feel safe travelling there to participate in the World Cup. I have also directed the Board to request that Bangladesh's World Cup matches be held in Sri Lanka,” Nazrul had written in an earlier Facebook post.
Nazrul has asked the advisor to stop broadcasting IPL matches in Bangladesh. “Additionally, I have asked the Adviser for Information and Broadcasting to suspend the broadcast of IPL matches in Bangladesh. Under no circumstances will we tolerate any disrespect toward Bangladesh cricket, Bangladeshi cricketers, or Bangladesh itself,” he added.
Bangladesh will play against the West Indies on February 7, Italy on February 9, England on February 14, and Nepal on February 17. The matches are to be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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Chair hurled at Union Minister of State V. Somanna during public event in Koppal
Koppal: Tension prevailed for a brief period at Hitnal village in Koppal taluk on Monday after a chair was allegedly hurled at Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti, V. Somanna, during a public function.
The incident occurred when Somanna was attending the foundation stone–laying ceremony for a railway flyover near Hitnal village.
According to reports, a group of Congress workers expressed anger over the alleged exclusion of Koppal MP K. Rajashekar Basavaraj Hitnal and District In-charge Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi from the invitation list for the program. During the incident, a chair was reportedly thrown, but the Minister was unharmed as his security personnel intervened in time.
Following the incident, chaos ensued at the venue for some time, with protesters allegedly throwing chairs and staging a demonstration in front of Somanna’s vehicle, accusing the organisers of violating protocol.
The railway flyover project, being taken up for Rs 27 crore, connects the Hitnal–Munirabad–Ginigera stretch.
Reacting to the incident, Somanna said the project was fully funded by the Central government and denied any breach of protocol. “There was no violation of etiquette related to the programme. The disturbance was created intentionally,” he said.
