Bangladesh players angry as government betrays them, shifts T20 World Cup exclusion blame

Bangladesh players have been angered by the recent comments from their government, as Sports Advisor, Asif Nazrul has now put the blame on the players and the cricket board for pulling out of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

After the BCCI had snubbed Mustafizur Rahman from a much-deserved IPL contract with the Kolkata Knight Riders, the BCB and the Bangladesh government started the campaign against the BCCI, seeking an explanation for their actions. However, the BCCI didn't bother to answer, since the IPL is a domestic league and they are not answerable in any way to other boards.

Citing this, the BCB asked the ICC to shift their matches out of India and cited security concerns as the major issue. However, the ICC refused their claim and cited logistical challenges as a major issue if the tournament schedule is altered. The Bangladesh government then refused to budge an inch and asked their team to pull out of the upcoming T20 World Cup.

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Government blames Bangladesh players for T20 World Cup boycott

It is known to the wider world that the Bangladesh government had issued a statement publicly boycotting the T20 World Cup. Asif Nazrul, the sports advisor, had made it official that they will not be sending their team to play in India.

However, with the ICC replacing them in no time and their foremost allies, Pakistan, also having their tournament on track, they are possibly regretting their earlier decision. Facing the fury from the people of Bangladesh, he made a stunning turnaround, where he claimed that the decision was taken by the players and the BCB.

Even ahead of the World Cup, a meeting took place between Nazrul and the BCB officials in the presence of the Bangladesh cricketers, and the decision to stick to their stance was made, with the players not having much of a say on the issue.

Bangladesh players claim developments are 'funny' and they are 'helpless'

The recent reports have left the Bangladesh cricketers upset, as they were always in favour of playing the World Cup, and the decision was solely on the part of the government. However, now they are being blamed for the consequences, which is what has disappointed them.

One of the players described the current developments as funny. While another has had an illustrated claim that they have nothing to say on this, as they are never backed or supported from any end. They are totally helpless in this situation.

“That was funny,” a player told The Daily Star.

“You heard what he said. What can we say? We have no one. We are helpless. We don't know what to say since we had no hand in this [World Cup exclusion]. Many things don't need to be verbalised to be understood. We didn't get any help from any side.” This looked more like an indirect attack on the Bangladesh government and the BCB.

Asif Nazrul made another turnaround on the T20 World Cup issue

However, after the response from the Bangladesh players landed him in another major fix, and even the fans backed their players, the Bangladesh Sports Advisor issued a clarification, where he admitted that the decision was made on the government's part.

"Once again, I firmly state that the decision not to play in the World Cup was made by the government," he said. He explained himself, claiming that his earlier comments were misunderstood and his statements were made in response to the question asked about whether they felt regret over not playing in the World Cup.

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