'Ball in Bangladesh's court': Indian govt assures warm welcome to all nations for T20 World Cup

NEW DELHI: The govt is in touch with the BCCI, is tracking “day-to-day developments” and will react to the Bangladesh situation “as and when desired”, TOI has learnt. According to sources, the govt will follow its sports policy of welcoming every participating nation at a multilateral event, as per the Olympic charter. Sources said Bangladesh’s decision to pull out of the T20 World Cup or relocate its matches would remain “entirely its own” and “the first call must be taken by Dhaka”.

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“Once their govt makes the stand clear or takes a final decision, only then will Indian authorities react,” sources said.




“The situation is different with Pakistan. There is a specific sports policy for them. India will not engage in any bilateral sports with Pakistan anywhere in the world. Nor will teams across sporting disciplines travel to each other’s nations for one-on-one events. The BCCI and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have their own understanding of playing at neutral venues even in multilateral sports events,” sources said.

“As for the Bangladesh cricket team, there will be full security measures in place. The government's stand has always been that of welcoming every nation coming here to participate. The ball is in their court whether they want to come or not. The decision is entirely theirs,” sources added.

BCB sends second letter asking for venue change

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has, as TOI had reported on Thursday, sent a second communication to the ICC explaining concerns about travelling to India for the T20 World Cup while reiterating its demand for a change of venue to Sri Lanka.

“Following discussions with sports ministry advisor Asif Nazrul, the BCB has once again sent a communication to the ICC. The ICC wanted to know areas of concern with regards to security and BCB has cited them,” a source close to the BCB told PTI. As of now, the ICC hasn’t given any indication that it will shift venues.


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