New Delhi, Jan 22 (NationPress) Former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has urged Bangladesh to proceed to India for their matches in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, emphasizing that India is a secure nation and stating that the matter should not be politicized.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has requested to relocate their matches from India, citing security worries after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) requested Kolkata Knight Riders to release Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rehman for the upcoming IPL.

The ICC Board has denied their request, but the BCB reiterated its stance on Thursday, expressing that they are not changing their position regarding traveling to India for the T20 World Cup, and accused the ICC of inconsistency, as the governing body accepted a similar request from the BCCI when it declined to send its men’s team to Pakistan for the 2025 Champion Trophy.

Lalit Modi asserted that if Bangladesh is keen on joining the T20 World Cup, they should adhere to the original schedule since the country is indeed very secure.

“Bangladesh should make the trip to India, as it is a safe country. No visiting team has ever encountered issues here, and there has never been a security incident during any sporting event. The government consistently guarantees safety at all sporting events. There is no need for political dramatization,” Lalit Modi told IANS on Thursday.

Earlier, Bangladesh Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Nazrul mentioned that they feel unjustly treated by the ICC and stand firm on their decision not to play their matches in India.

“We will return to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka. They issued a 24-hour ultimatum, but a global organization cannot impose such constraints. The ICC will miss an audience of 200 million for the World Cup, which will be their loss. They are mistakenly labeling Sri Lanka as co-hosts; it’s a hybrid model. Some statements made during the ICC meeting were astonishing,” Nazrul stated after meeting with Bangladesh team cricketers and BCB officials in Dhaka.

Bangladesh previously informed the ICC that they would not travel to India due to security concerns amid deteriorating relations between the two nations, requesting that their matches be relocated to Sri Lanka. However, the ICC reiterated on Wednesday that the T20 World Cup will proceed as planned, with Bangladesh's matches taking place in India.

The ICC Board highlighted that making adjustments so close to the tournament is impractical and that changing the schedule under these circumstances, without a credible security threat, could set a dangerous precedent, compromising the integrity of future ICC events and undermining its neutrality.

“The security situation in India remains stable. Our security concerns are not baseless; they originated from a genuine incident,” Nazrul added.