Asif Nazrul blamed for Bangladesh T20 World Cup withdrawal

A government inquiry in Bangladesh has held Asif Nazrul, the former youth and sports adviser to the interim government, solely responsible for the country's withdrawal from the 2026 T20 World Cup.

The three-member committee's 22-page report concluded that Nazrul acted as a ‘solo decision maker’ by instructing the team not to travel to India for the tournament. The decision followed a dispute involving the removal of pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the Indian Premier League. While the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) requested that matches be moved to Sri Lanka, the International Cricket Council (ICC) refused, leading to Bangladesh being replaced by Scotland in the tournament.

The report also criticized the BCB for lacking ‘independent strategic leadership, crisis diplomacy capability and long-term planning.’ Testimony from BCB President Tamim Iqbal suggested that the decision was driven by political positioning and anti-India sentiment rather than genuine security concerns. Additionally, captains Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto noted that players were actually willing to participate in the tournament in India.