BCB admits ICC's reluctance to shift games out of India but refuses to budge
Dhaka (PTI): The ICC on Tuesday "requested" the Bangladesh Cricket Board to reconsider its demand of shifting the country's T20 World Cup matches out of India but the BCB has refused to back down, reiterating its security concerns.
In a statement, the BCB said the board's position remains unchanged despite the ICC's reluctance to entertain its request and both parties will continue to "explore possible solutions".
BCB has written to the ICC multiple times demanding that its World Cup games be shifted out of India due to security concerns but considering that the schedule for the T20 showpiece beginning February 7 is finalised, the world body is unlikely to relent.
"While the ICC highlighted that the tournament itinerary has already been announced and requested the BCB to reconsider its stance, the Board's position remains unchanged. Both parties agreed that discussions will continue to explore possible solutions," the BCB said.
"The BCB remains committed to safeguarding the well-being of its players, officials and staff while engaging constructively with the ICC to address the matter," said the BCB after its officials attended the video conference with ICC," it added.
While the BCB considers it unsafe for its players to travel to India, ICC's risk assessment report does not flag any specific or direct threat to the team if it participates in the tournament.
In Tuesday's video conference with the ICC, the BCB was represented by its president Aminul Islam and CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury among other senior officials.
"During the discussions, the BCB reaffirmed its position regarding the decision not to travel to India, citing security concerns. The Board also reiterated its request for the ICC to consider relocating Bangladesh's matches outside India," the BCB added.
Bangladesh are scheduled to play three games in Kolkata and one in Mumbai during the league stage.
BCB asked for a relocation after the BCCI instructed Kolkata Knight Riders to release pacer Mustafizur Rahman from its IPL 2026 roster amid violence against Hindus here.
Following Mustafizur's removal, an irate Bangladesh government banned IPL's broadcast in the country.
Former captain Tamim Iqbal and current Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto have cautioned against a very hard-line approach with the former saying that decisions taken today would have repercussions 10 years down the line.
Shanto has voiced the psychological stress that the players are feeling at the prospect of missing a World Cup.
However, sports ministry advisor Asif Nazrul has taken an unyielding position, repeatedly stating that Bangladesh will not budge from its demand for relocation of its games to co-host Sri Lanka.
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SC refuses to entertain plea against deletion of names from WB voter list, terms it ‘premature’
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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by a group of 13 people seeking its intervention in the deletion of their names from the voter list during the Special Institutional Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, where polling for the first phase of the assembly election will be held on April 23.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi termed the petition "premature", directing the aggrieved parties to approach the established appellate tribunals instead.
"Since the petitioners (Quaraisha Yeasmin and others) have already approached the appellate tribunals… in our considered view, the apprehensions expressed in the petition are premature. If the plea is allowed, then necessary consequences will follow,” the bench said in its order, adding that it has not expressed any views on the merits of the plea.
The plea alleged that the Election Commission was summarily deleting names without following due process, and that appeals against these deletions were not being heard in a timely manner.
The Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court has set up as many as 19 tribunals headed by former HC chief justices and judges to decide appeals against deletions of names of persons from the voters’ lists.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, appearing for the poll panel, informed the court that there are approximately 30 to 34 lakh appeals currently pending. "Every tribunal now has over one lakh appeals to handle," the bench said.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the EC had failed to place necessary orders before the relevant judicial authorities and that the "freezing date" for the electoral rolls should be extended.
"If I am not allowed to argue, then what is the use? Will these appeals be decided within a timeframe or just kept extending?" the counsel asked.
Justice Bagchi, during the hearing, referred to the sanctity of the electoral process and said the right to vote is not merely a constitutional formality but a "sentimental" pillar of democracy.
"The right to vote in a country you were born in is not just constitutional, but sentimental. It is about being part of a democracy and helping elect a government," he said.
He, however, said that the tribunals, manned by former judges, cannot be overburdened by fixing the timelines for adjudications.
"It is not the end justifying the means, but the means justifying the end," Justice Bagchi said.
"We need to protect due process rights. The voter should not be sandwiched between two constitutional authorities," he said, adding that it would not interdict the election process at this stage.
Justice Bagchi noted that the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice had already formulated the manner and mode for appeals, which began on Monday.
"Unless and until an enormous number of voters are excluded or it materially affects the election... the election cannot be cancelled," the bench said, adding that judicial intervention is intended to "promote elections, not interdict them."
The CJI emphasised that the petitioners must exhaust their remedies before the appellate tribunals.
Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.
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