Decide on participation by Jan 21 or risk removal from T20 WC: ICC to BCB
New Delhi (PTI): The ICC has asked the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to decide on its participation in the T20 World Cup in India by January 21 or "risk being replaced by another team" in the tournament beginning February 7.
Despite the back and forth between ICC and BCB, no solution has been found to the crisis that was triggered by the removal of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the 2026 Indian Premier League on BCCI's instructions for unspecified "developments all around."
"The BCB officials have been told to decide on the participation by January 21. If they refuse to travel to India, then they should be ready to be replaced by another team as per rankings," said an ICC source.
Citing security concerns and national pride, the BCB has announced that its national team won't be travelling to India for its group games in Kolkata and Mumbai.
However, with the event schedule already finalised, the ICC has shown reluctance to shift Bangladesh's games to co-host Sri Lanka, where the marquee India-Pakistan clash will be held as per the mutually agreed arrangement for ICC events till 2027.
In case Bangladesh continue to be unyielding, the replacement team would most likely be Scotland based on current rankings. Bangladesh are scheduled to play three leagues games in Kolkata and one in Mumbai.
The BCB has remained adamant on either a change of venue or a change of groups to facilitate its games in Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh are currently placed in Group C along with the West Indies, Italy, England and Nepal.
In their last meeting with ICC officials in Dhaka, the BCB proposed that Bangladesh be swapped with Ireland in Group B alongside Sri Lanka, Australia, Oman and Zimbabwe.
Such a move would allow the team to be based completely in Sri Lanka for all its league engagements.
"...the possibility of moving Bangladesh to a different group as a means of facilitating the matter with minimum logistical adjustments was discussed," the BCB had stated after the meeting on Saturday.
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.
Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have deteriorated with the killings of Hindus in Bangladesh.
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal and current Test skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto have cautioned against a very hard-line approach on the controversial subject with the former saying that decisions taken today would have repercussions 10 years down the line.
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Prez Putin receives US invitation to join Trump's Gaza Peace Board: Kremlin
Moscow (PTI): Russian President Vladimir Putin has received an invitation to join US President Donald Trump's Gaza Peace Board, and the invitation is under consideration, the Kremlin said on Monday.
"Indeed, President Putin also received an offer through diplomatic channels to join this Peace Board," the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
"We are currently studying all the details of this proposal, and we hope to contact the American side to clarify all the details," he said.
Several other countries have received offers from the US to join this body. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif have also received invitations to join the Peace Board.
The US president unveiled the board as part of the second phase of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In October, Israel and militant group Hamas agreed to Trump's peace plan.
The board is being projected by Washington as a new international body to usher in peace and stability in Gaza and beyond, triggering speculations that it may respond to other global conflicts as well.
"Russia sees the Gaza Peace Board as the US attempt to create a rival of the United Nations Organisation with a broader mandate," Russia's Channel- 1 TV said on Monday in its 'Pryamoi Efir' (Live Broadcast) political show.
