ICC explore venues in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as alternatives for Bangladesh's matches
BCB stand firm on their stance of boycotting their matches in India
ICC expected to make formal communication in coming hours
In a latest development, the International Cricket Council are looking at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai and the Greenfield Cricket Stadium as the two possible venues for Bangladesh's ICC T20 World Cup 2026 group stage matches.
This development comes days after the Bangladesh Cricket Board wrote to the ICC about changing their venues from India to Sri Lanka for the entirety of the 20-team tournament.
The BCB are still very much against the idea of playing their group matches in India. This comes after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) used their influence to cancel Bangladeshi pacer Mustafizur Rahman's Indian Premier League contract.
The Kolkata Knight Riders had acquired Mustafizur's services on a 9-crore deal during the mini-auction for the 2026 IPL season. However, the BCCI advised the 2-time IPL champions to get the left-arm seamer out of their squad in the wake of minority Hindu killings in Bangladesh.
This move infuriated the BCB, who were quick to impose ban on IPL's broadcast in the country. The Bangladeshi board also expressed their disagreement in playing their T20 World Cup matches in India.
Since then, the ICC and BCB are figuring out the best possible option. In a fresh report which came out yesterday, the apex international body has decided to not allow Bangladesh play their World Cup matches in Sri Lanka.
Instead, two venues in South India are currently being explored by the ICC. The Chepauk in Tamil Nadu and the Greenfield stadium in Kerala have come out as the possible alternatives.
The cricket boards of both the states have been informed about this and it is learnt that they are willing to host Bangladesh's T20 World Cup matches.
Chepauk is already going to host a total of 7 T20 World Cup matches - 6 during the group stages and 1 Super 8 game. It is also being reported that the ICC will be making an official announcement on this situation in the upcoming hours.
Bangladesh's ICC T20 World Cup Squad
Litton Das (C), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Tawhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Quazi Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shak Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Taskin Ahmed, Shaif Uddin, Shoriful Islam
Bangladesh's ICC T20 World Cup Fixtures
West Indies: February 7, Kolkata
Italy: February 9, Kolkata
England: February 14, Kolkata
Nepal: February 17, Mumbai
