Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha on Thursday added fresh fuel to the standoff between the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the ICC that erupted last month over Bangladesh’s participation in the T20 World Cup. Agha expressed disappointment over Bangladesh’s absence from the tournament.
Speaking at the pre-tournament captains’ press conference in Colombo, Agha said it was unfortunate that Bangladesh would not be part of the World Cup, while also thanking Bangladesh cricket supporters for backing Pakistan.
“Well, they are our brothers. Thank you very much to them for supporting us. I would say they can support us in the tournament as well. It’s really sad to not see them playing the World Cup. But thank you so much for the support, and hopefully they can continue backing us in the tournament,” Agha said.
Bangladesh were ejected from the T20 World Cup after the ICC found no substance in their “security concerns” over travelling to India for the tournament.
The BCB had made repeated representations to the ICC following the BCCI’s January 3 directive to the Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from the squad. However, the ICC refused to alter the World Cup schedule so close to the tournament, and an independent investigation later concluded there was no security threat at the two venues — Kolkata and Mumbai — where Bangladesh were scheduled to play their group matches.
Amid the standoff, the Pakistan Cricket Board wrote to the ICC expressing support for Bangladesh’s concerns and even offered to host Pakistan’s World Cup group matches.
The ICC eventually ran out of patience and removed Bangladesh from the tournament, naming Scotland as the replacement side.
The decision angered the PCB, and in a move described as solidarity with Bangladesh, the Government of Pakistan barred the Salman-led side from taking the field against India in their Group A clash next week in Colombo.
