The move follows Kolkata Knight Riders’ decision to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman, after receiving a directive from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Bangladesh will not play their Twenty20 World Cup matches in India after Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League team amid growing tensions between the countries, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul said on Sunday.
Kolkata Knight Riders announced on Saturday that they had released the Bangladesh fast bowler following instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The decision comes ahead of Bangladesh’s three scheduled Twenty20 World Cup matches in Kolkata next month. The tournament, set to run from February 7 to March 8, will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh will not go to India to play the World Cup. The Bangladesh Cricket Board has taken this decision today,” Nazrul, who is an adviser to the Ministry of Sports, said in a statement.
“We welcome this decision taken in the context of the extreme communal policy of India’s cricket board.”
Last month, hundreds protested near Bangladesh’s High Commission in New Delhi after factory worker Dipu Chandra Das was beaten and set on fire in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district by a crowd that accused him of blasphemy.
On Sunday, cricket news site Cricbuzz reported that the BCB would ask the BCCI for a formal explanation regarding Mustafizur’s release.
The ICC and BCB did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Bangladesh are due to play West Indies, England and Italy in Kolkata before ending the group stage against Nepal in Mumbai.
Ashik Islam, Special Correspondent, UAE News 360
