The T20 World Cup 2026, which was held in India and Sri Lanka, faced some significant controversy, as Bangladesh decided to withdraw from the tournament. This was because of the tense political situation between India and Bangladesh at that point of time, especially after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were forced to release Mustafizur Rahman due to the BCCI’s decision not to allow Bangladesh players to participate in the IPL 2026 after backlash following the killing of Hindus in the country. Now, as the new Bangladesh government has come in and there have been massive changes in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) ranks, they have finally put the blame for this fiasco on a former government official.
A report in Cricbuzz states that, according to a report published by a Bangladesh government inquiry committee, former youth and sports adviser of the interim Bangladesh government under Mohammad Younus, Asif Nazrul, was held responsible for the team withdrawing their name from the T20 World Cup 2026.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Bangladesh had earlier formed a three-member enquiry committee to investigate why such a drastic decision to not travel to India for a big tournament like the T20 World Cup 2026 was taken. This committee was led by Dr A.K.M. Oli Ullah, additional secretary of the youth and sports ministry’s administration wing. The committee also consisted of former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar, who is now the chief selector.
After significant discussions, the committee identified Asif Nazrul as the main culprit behind the fiasco. In fact, they also found that the Bangladesh Cricket Board fully supported the decision of the then sports ministry, which was headed by Asif Nazrul.
It is also to be noted that Nazrul had claimed that the players were aware of this decision and had fully backed the move.
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‘Bangladesh should have gone to play in the T20 World Cup’
Barrister Faisal Dastgir, the third and final member of this committee, in a press conference reiterated that Asif Nazrul was the person behind Bangladesh not travelling for the T20 World Cup. In fact, he claimed that the team should definitely have gone to take part in the mega tournament.
“Based on what emerged from the investigation, our discussions with the relevant people, media reports and everything else, it can be said that the person responsible for not going to the World Cup was then youth and sports adviser Asif Nazrul. The government at the time and he were responsible,” Faisal said.
“Bangladesh definitely should have gone to play in the World Cup,” he added.