Bangladesh announce T20 World Cup squad amid Mustafizur Rahman controversy

NEW DELHI: The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday announced a 15-member squad, with Litton Das named captain, for next month’s T20 World Cup, hours after it was instructed by the country’s sports ministry to seek the shifting of the team’s league games from India to Sri Lanka.



The BCB has been told by the sports ministry to request the relocation of Bangladesh’s T20 World Cup league matches from India to Sri Lanka due to “concerns about players’ safety” following Mustafizur Rahman’s ouster from the IPL on BCCI instructions.



Bangladesh’s four league games are scheduled against West Indies (February 7), Italy (February 9) and England (February 14) in Kolkata, followed by their final match against Nepal (February 17) in Mumbai. The T20 showpiece will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

Das continues as captain, while pacer Taskin Ahmed returned to the side after missing the recent Ireland series. Ahmed will partner Mustafizur Rahman — who was also, as expected, named in the squad — in the pace department.


“The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced the national squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, to be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March,” the BCB said on ‘X’.

Following the BCCI’s diktat, Shah Rukh Khan co-owned IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday released Rahman, who was bought for Rs 9.20 crore after a bidding war at last month’s auction in Abu Dhabi.

The development prompted Bangladesh government advisor Asif Nazrul to instruct the BCB to ask the Jay Shah-led ICC to shift Bangladesh’s four league games to Sri Lanka. However, a BCCI source insisted that such a move is next to impossible with just a month remaining before the tournament.

Although the BCCI did not explicitly cite the current political situation in Bangladesh for seeking Rahman’s release, it said the decision was triggered by “what’s been happening all around.”

BANGLADESH SQUAD:
Litton Das (Captain), Mohammed Saif Hassan (Vice Captain), Tanzid Hasan, Mohammad Parvez Hossain Emon, Tawhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Qazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Md Shaifuddin, Shoriful Islam





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