Bangladesh government sports adviser makes U-turn: The fiasco between India and Pakistan is finally over. After Bangladesh was expelled from the 2026 T20 World Cup, Pakistan continued to insist on changing the venue of the match from India to Sri Lanka and decided to boycott the match against India citing security reasons.

The decision comes after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) dropped star pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season following strict instructions from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) was not happy with the decision and hence made their stance clear. However, they were replaced by Scotland.

Asif Nazrul takes a serious U-turn

Bangladesh government sports adviser Asif Nazrul made a major U-turn on Tuesday. From his previous stand, the development showed that the decision of the ongoing 2026 T20 World Cup not to travel to India and change the venue to Sri Lanka was taken by the cricketers and the BCB and not by the government.

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Asif Nazrul had previously met the cricketers in January 2022. A meeting was held after Liton Das commented that the players were not involved in any decision and Asif told the media that he had informed the players of the government’s decision.

Earlier, Asif said (as quoted by Cricbuzz), “The purpose of the meeting is just to explain to the players why the government has taken this decision and provide them with background information. I am sure they understand. That is the purpose – nothing else.”

“I don’t think we got justice from the ICC. Whether we participate in the World Cup or not is entirely the government’s decision,” he added.

BCB became a scapegoat?

After the International Cricket Council decided not to impose any fine or sanction on BCB, Asif changed his stance and said: “There is no question of regret (not participating in the World Cup). This decision was taken by BCB and the players as they made sacrifices for national cricket security, people’s safety and protecting the dignity of the country.”

He added: “The International Cricket Council has said that sanctions will not be imposed and Bangladesh will be considered to host international matches. This is a brilliant achievement. I salute the Bangladesh Cricket Board.”

However, reports claim that Asif Nazrul played a key role in not sending cricketers to India citing the anti-India stance taken by the interim government after it came to power in the wake of the student movement in July 2025.

Bangladesh escapes sanctions

The ICC decided not to sanction the Bengal Tigers and host the ICC tournament in the country after the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup was moved from the home country to Dubai, citing security and political unrest. They have also decided to provide BCB with all the revenue they get from ICC every year.

BCB president Aminul Islam, who was present at the last International Cricket Council meeting, has to write a request to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to play against their arch-rivals India on February 15 at the R Premedasa Stadium in Colombo.

Also read: Mohsin Naqvi exposed: PCB pleads with BCB to formally appeal before Pakistan boycotts India’s U-turn