Cricket's governing body has refused to move Bangladesh's T20 World Cup matches out of India, stating there is no credible security threat to take the step.
The T20 World Cup begins on February 7 but the build-up to the tournament has been marred by uncertainty over the fixtures after Bangladesh refused to travel to India citing security concerns, urging the International Cricket Council to move its matches to co-hosts Sri Lanka.
The impasse started after the Indian cricket board asked the Kolkata Knight Riders to remove Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their squad following deteriorating political relations between the countries.
Bangladesh then banned the broadcast of IPL in the country and refused to allow its players to travel to India.
Over the last few weeks, multiple meetings took place between the ICC, board representatives and Bangladesh cricket stakeholders.
On Wednesday, the ICC decided that schedule will remain as it is, putting the ball in Bangladesh's court.
“The decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any of the tournament venues in India,” the ICC said in a statement.
“The ICC board noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardise the sanctity of future ICC events.”
The Tigers must now decide whether to take part in the World Cup or get replaced in the 20-team tournament. According to reports, Scotland could replace Bangladesh if they refuse to travel to India.
An ICC delegation arrived in Dhaka last week to find a solution but the Bangladesh board did not relent.
“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its players' involvement in a domestic league,” the ICC said alluding to Mustafizur's IPL snub.
“This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the T20 World Cup.”
Pakistan, on the other hand, will play all their matches in Sri Lanka. Both India and Pakistan now have an established policy of not travelling to either country owing to security concerns and political tensions.
Scotland are the next highest placed team who missed out on qualification for this year's T20 World Cup. If they do get called up, it would be one of the biggest contingent of Associate nations at any World Cup. They will line up alongside UAE, Netherlands, USA, Namibia, Italy, Oman, Nepal and Canada.
