NEW DELHI: In a major setback, the International Cricket Council (ICC) outrightly rejected the Bangladesh Cricket Board's (BCB) demand to shift T20 World Cup matches from India to Sri Lanka, ESPNcricinfo reported.
The report further added that the ICC held a virtual meeting on Tuesday, informing the BCB of its decision and rejecting the request to move matches out of India due to security concerns.
The governing body also made it clear that if Bangladesh refuse to travel to India for the T20 World Cup, they risk forfeiting points. However, the BCB denied that any such ultimatum was issued by the ICC.
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Neither the BCCI nor the BCB has issued any official communication regarding the outcome of Tuesday's call, which was convened by the ICC after the Bangladesh Cricket Board wrote on Sunday requesting that Bangladesh's matches be "considered" for relocation outside India.
Bangladesh were scheduled to play three T20 World Cup matches in Kolkata and one in Mumbai. Drawn in Group C, the team was due to face the West Indies in their opening match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and subsequently compete against defending champions England, Italy and Nepal.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, while announcing the diktat to release Rahman, had merely stated that it was being done because of "developments all around", without explaining the specifics.
