ICC Draws Line: Bangladesh Pushes for Sri Lanka Venues for T20 World Cup 2026, Not India

• The ICC has set January 21 as the deadline for Bangladesh to confirm participation in the T20 World Cup 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
• Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) insists on playing its matches in Sri Lanka, citing security concerns, despite ICC's refusal to move them from Kolkata and Mumbai.
• An ICC delegation visited Dhaka twice to negotiate with BCB, reiterating that there are no security threats for Bangladesh in India.
• An independent security agency also reported "no specific or heightened threat to the Bangladesh team in India."
• If BCB refuses to play in India, ICC might replace Bangladesh with Scotland, as per rankings. The controversy began after BCCI's Devajit Saikia linked Mustafizur Rahman's release to attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh.

Why It Matters: ICC sets deadline for Bangladesh to accept India venues for T20 World Cup 2026 amid security dispute.