Dubai, Jan 21 (PTI) The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday rejected the request from the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to shift its team’s T20 World Cup fixtures to Sri Lanka, saying the matches will proceed as scheduled since there was no credible threat to the safety of Bangladesh players, officials or fans at any of the tournament venues in India.
The decision was taken at an ICC Board meeting held via video conference, which was convened to discuss the situation after the BCB raised concerns and sought a change in venues.
According to the ICC, the Board reviewed multiple security assessments, including independent evaluations, all of which concluded that there was no credible threat to the safety of Bangladesh players, officials, media personnel or fans at any of the tournament venues in India.
The ICC noted that making changes to the schedule at such a late stage was not feasible and that altering fixtures in the absence of a verified security risk could set an undesirable precedent for future global events.
“The ICC Board noted that relocating matches under the present circumstances could jeopardise the sanctity of ICC events and undermine the organisation’s neutrality as a global governing body,” the ICC said in a statement.
The world governing body said its management had held a series of meetings and correspondences with the BCB in recent weeks, sharing detailed information on the tournament’s security arrangements.
These included venue-specific plans and assurances of layered protection involving federal and state law enforcement agencies. PTI APS APS PDS PDS
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