Gurugram (Haryana) [India], January 22 : Former India cricketer Atul Wassan said the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) should use Litton Das's captaincy as an opportunity to ease tensions between India and Bangladesh rather than requesting their matches be moved out of India.
Speaking to ANI, Wassan said that Bangladesh should leverage the fact that their captain is a Hindu as a way to help ease the ongoing tensions between India and Bangladesh. He also said that relocating games so close to the T20 World Cup 2026 would create logistical issues for the ICC, stressed that India has adequate security arrangements and suggested Bangladesh treat the tournament as an olive branch to reduce tensions.
"It is a logistical nightmare for the ICC. The preparations for the T20 WC have been going on for so long, and it is not possible to do so with the tournament so close now. I don't think there will be any security issues in India. We have foolproof security and safety measures in place here. And your captain is a Hindu, and I think Bangladesh should use the tournament as an olive branch and assuage the ongoing tensions," Atul Wassan told ANI on Thursday.
ICC on Wednesday confirmed the T20 World Cup 2026 will proceed as scheduled, with Bangladesh's matches to be played in India. The decision was taken following an ICC Board meeting on Wednesday via video conference, which was convened to discuss the way forward after the BCB had asked that its matches be moved out of India to Sri Lanka.
Wassan also said the BCB's concerns do not align with the ICC's stance, adding that it is unrealistic to expect match relocations at short notice and that the ICC would have made it clear to the BCB to either adhere to the existing plans or be out of the T20 World Cup 2026.
"I don't think BCB's concerns align with the ICC. It is impossible for ICC to cater to the whims and fancies of any team like this. You can not just wake up one day and write a letter asking for your matches to be shifted. Things don't move in this manner. The ICC must have told them to either get in line or get out, and I think the BCB knows it," he said while speaking to ANI.
The BCB President, Aminul Islam Bulbul, confirmed on Thursday that the BCB stands firm on its decision not to play its ICC Men's World Cup matches in India, after the ICC rejected its request to shift Bangladesh's World Cup fixtures outside India.
The T20 World Cup is set to kick off on February 7, with India and Sri Lanka to co-host the marquee T20 event.