A two-member team of the ICC will land in Dhaka on Saturday to resolve the deadlock surrounding Bangladesh's participation in next month's T20 World Cup in India, hoping to allay their security concerns, having already indicated that a change of venue is impractical.
Bangladesh has been asking the global governing body to relocate its World Cup matches, scheduled to be held in Kolkata and Mumbai, on the pretext of a perceived security threat to its players. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) raised this demand after national team pacer Mustafizur Rahman was abruptly delinked from his IPL contract with Kolkata Knight Riders following a BCCI directive.
"Yes, that's the information (ICC officials' visit to Dhaka) at the moment. Discussions are going on at the moment, and all possible ways to handle the situation will be discussed. We expect Bangladesh government officials to also take part in the talks," a source privy to the development said.
He said the BCB has already conveyed to the ICC its apprehensions during a recent video conference, particularly with regard to playing in Mumbai. Bangladesh is scheduled to face Nepal in their final Group C match at the Wankhede Stadium on February 17. But the board informed the ICC that remarks by a few Indian politicians from Mumbai could be considered as a threat to its players' security.
The BCB source indicated that the possibility of moving the matches to a different Indian city, possibly to the southern parts, or to Sri Lanka will be pondered over in the parley, which might take place at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka. However, it's learnt that the ICC was firm in its view that such hypothetical scenarios could not be viewed as a strong reason to shift the venues of matches.
In its own security assessment of the marquee event, the ICC had placed the threat perception at low to moderate, a regular norm during such events. The Bangladesh side, it's learnt, will again raise the point of Mustafizur's removal from the IPL to reinforce its claims of security threats to its players in India, along with the recent spate of anti-Bangladesh protests in various parts of the country.
But the ICC is unlikely to move away from its stand that last-minute venue changes will set an unwanted precedent and other member nations too can come up with such demands in future, which can pose significant challenges to an already-published schedule. The governing body will also try to convince Bangladesh of the tight security measures which will be in place during the World Cup.
Also read: ICC unwilling to shift Bangladesh games, but BCB refuses to yield
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