Former India cricketer Madan Lal said Pakistan influenced Bangladesh’s decision to withdraw from the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India. Lal called the move “stupid” and politically motivated by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), adding that “India will not lose anything” if they don’t participate.

The 2026 T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held between February 7 and March 8 between India and Sri Lanka. After the board meeting, the BCB again refused to visit India, saying the ICC decision was unjust. The board said its requests to move the match to Sri Lanka or a neutral venue were ignored.

Pakistan encourages Bangladesh not to participate – Madan Lal

Madan Lal criticized Pakistan while responding to Bangladesh’s stance on the T20 World Cup. He said Bangladesh was forced to take this decision just to express its political views against India. Lal warned that Bangladesh will suffer the worst as they will face severe business losses.

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“I think it is stupid, I can say, because India will not lose anything. Bangladesh will lose everything because from a business point of view, Bangladesh will suffer quite a lot by not participating in such a big event,” Madan Lal told India Today.

“I think it was Pakistan who instigated them not to participate in this tournament. They just wanted to knock India down,” he added.

This is one of the safest places in India – Madan Lal

Madan Lal says there is no real threat to playing football in India. He noted that the match was scheduled in Mumbai, which he described as one of the safest cities in the country.

Lal added that India would not be affected by Bangladesh’s decision and claimed that the issue was political. He said Pakistan and Bangladesh were working together to try to target India instead of responding to genuine security concerns.

“They are playing in Mumbai, which is one of the safest places in India. It doesn’t have any impact on the Indian board or anything else, but I think it’s all politics and Pakistan and Bangladesh play their part very strongly because they want to bring India down and that’s it,” Lal said.

Bangladesh-India cricket relations tense ahead of 2026 T20 World Cup

Cricketing ties between Bangladesh and India have been strained after the Board of Control for Cricket in India asked Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Mustafizur Rahman from IPL 2026.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is also in deadlock. Pakistan reportedly supports Bangladesh’s stance, while a section of Pakistani media claimed that PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi suspended the team’s preparations while the board awaited clarification.

Bangladesh are scheduled to play all four group matches in India. They will face West Indies, Italy and England at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata before playing their final group match against Nepal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

If Bangladesh advances to the Super Eights, some of the matches will be played in India, depending on the results of the group. Bangladesh reached the Super Eights in the 2024 T20 World Cup but failed to reach the semi-finals.

Also read: BCCI to groom Nepal team to replace Bangladesh in international cricket