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Cricket PlayersPakistan ready to host Bangladesh's T20 World Cup games: Details of PCB's letter to ICC revealed
On Tuesday, PCB sent am email to the ICC, backing Bangladesh’s concerns over travelling to India amid rising regional political tensions.
As the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is yet to officially confirm its final verdict on Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup in India, a media report has revealed that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sent a last-minute email to the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday, backing Bangladesh’s concerns over travelling to India amid rising regional political tensions. But PCB’s intervention did not stop there. The Mohsin Naqvi-led board went a step further by offering to host Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup group-stage matches in Pakistan.
Details of the letter emerged in a report by news agency PTI, which quoted a PCB source as saying the board believes Bangladesh’s concerns are justified and that their request to move scheduled group games out of India should be accommodated. While Sri Lanka, co-hosts of the tournament, remain an option, the ICC has reportedly made it clear that it is reluctant to alter the schedule with less than three weeks remaining before the tournament begins. As a result, PCB offered to host the three group games in Pakistan.
Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup participation, LIVE Updates
“The PCB has said in the e-mail that the demand by the Bangladesh board is justified and must be accepted, and that if there are any issues moving Bangladesh matches to Sri Lanka, Pakistan is ready to host all their games,” the source said.
Earlier, Pakistani media reports claimed that the Bangladesh government had approached Pakistan for diplomatic and cricketing support, with PCB backing Bangladesh’s stance. The reports also suggested that Pakistan could review its own participation should the concerns go unaddressed, although PCB has not made any public comment on the issue.
Pakistan are scheduled to play all their T20 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka under the hybrid model, which was agreed upon by the BCCI and ICC until 2027.
The standoff began after Kolkata Knight Riders released Mustafizur Rahman following a BCCI directive. The Bangladesh government then banned the broadcast of IPL in the country, following which, the BCB told the ICC of its decision not to send their team to India for the T20 World Cup. Despite multiple rounds of discussions for the last three weeks, including a meeting in Dhaka last weekend, neither side changed their stance.
The PTI report added that, the ICC called for a Board meeting on Wednesday to take a final call on Bangladesh’s concern.
The 2026 T20 World Cup will begin on February 7.
