Bangladesh forms panel to investigate 2026 T20 World Cup exclusion

A committee led by Dr AKM Wali Ullah has been tasked with probing why Bangladesh withdrew from the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Government forms probe committee The sports ministry announced on Monday that Dr AKM Wali Ullah, an additional secretary, will lead a committee including chief selector Habibul Bashar and Faisal Dastagir. The committee’s mandate is to investigate all aspects of Bangladesh’s absence from the 2026 T20 World Cup. They have been given 15 working days to submit their findings to the government. ## Timeline of events leading to withdrawal The controversy began on January 3, 2026, when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) instructed the Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL squad for an unspecified reason. This occurred during a period of strained bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh. Within 24 hours, Asif Nazrul, then Bangladesh’s sports adviser in the interim government, posted on Facebook calling for the ICC to relocate Bangladesh’s matches from India to Sri Lanka. ## Nazrul’s initial demands and ICC response On January 4, Asif Nazrul stated on his official Facebook page, 'I have asked the BCB to explain the entire matter to the ICC. The board should inform that where a Bangladeshi cricketer cannot play in India despite being contracted, the entire Bangladeshi cricket team cannot feel safe going to play in the World Cup. I have also instructed the Board to request that Bangladesh's World Cup matches be held in Sri Lanka.' The BCB relayed Bangladesh’s refusal to participate in India to the ICC, which rejected the move, citing a lack of security concerns. The deadlock persisted even after an ICC delegation visited Bangladesh to address the issue. ## Tournament removal and political shift On January 24, following the ICC board’s decision to dismiss Bangladesh’s request for alternate venues, the country was removed from the 2026 T20 World Cup and replaced by Scotland. Just before Bangladesh’s national elections, Nazrul reversed his earlier stance, asserting that he had not made the decision to withdraw the team. Instead, he placed responsibility on the players. After a new government took office, sports minister Aminul Haque announced plans to restore sporting ties with India and pledged a parliamentary investigation into how the BCB and previous administration handled the matter.