The International Cricket Council (ICC) has not identified any specific or heightened security threat for the Bangladesh cricket team during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India, according to a report published by ESPNcricinfo.
The report states that the ICC’s internal security assessment, which was shared with the Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB) security team, does not mention any particular or exceptional risk to the team. While the overall evaluation indicates no major concerns, it categorises security levels at some venues as low to medium risk, and at others as low or negligible. Such classifications are part of the ICC’s standard global risk assessment framework and are generally not considered sufficient grounds for relocating matches.
The issue came into public discussion following comments made on Monday by Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul, who claimed that a letter from the ICC’s security department had highlighted security risks. He also cited three alleged concerns, including restrictions related to player selection, fan attire, and recommendations regarding domestic elections.
However, the Crickinfo report clarifies that the ICC assessment does not contain any indication that the ICC imposed conditions on player selection, instructed supporters not to wear team jerseys, or suggested postponement of internal elections in Bangladesh.
A senior government official further clarified that the security assessment was an internal note prepared in response to Bangladesh’s request to explore the possibility of moving matches to another country, and not an official ICC reply to such a request.
Later, the BCB issued a statement explaining the sports adviser’s remarks. The board said the correspondence mentioned by the adviser was part of internal communication between the BCB and the ICC’s security department regarding a general assessment of potential security risks for Bangladesh ahead of the T20 World Cup. It should not be interpreted as the ICC’s formal response to BCB’s request for relocating Bangladesh’s matches outside India.
The statement added that the BCB has formally raised venue-related security concerns with the ICC and requested that Bangladesh’s matches be held outside India. The ICC’s official response to that request, however, is yet to be received.
