Months after the T20 international Cup 2026 ended, Bangladesh ODI captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz addressed the subject again, this time throwing a covert jab at the Bangladesh Cricket Board for missing out on one of the biggest platforms in international cricket.
Bangladesh was thrown out deliberately by the ICC and replaced by Scotland after the then-BCB president sought that the World Cup venue be moved from India for socio-religious concerns. Nonetheless, both the ICC and the BCCI refused to bow to the requests, and the Bangladesh cricket team had to forego the opportunity to compete in the World Cup despite being qualified for the competition.
While several cricketers from the country expressed their displeasure with the country’s expulsion from the event, Mehidy Hasan Miraz has now elaborated on the situation in an interview with RevSportz.
During a conversation with a RevSportz official, the interviewer asked whether the BCB should have sent the cricket team to India to compete in the T20 World Cup. Mehidy Hasan responded tactfully, describing it as a political problem.
“I believe that was a political problem. “I don’t have much else to say,” Miraz explained.
As political as it was, the Bangladesh government and the cricket board were both involved in the decision-making, which supports Mehidy Hasan claim after the altercation took on a Hindu-Muslim dimension, resulting from Mustafizur Rahman’s expulsion from playing IPL 2026 for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz regrets opportunities for young players.
Nonetheless, Mehidy Hasan acknowledged their disappointment at not being able to play in a World Cup competition. He discussed how the younger generation and developing talents hoped for such opportunity, but their hopes were dashed due to the political stalemate between India and Bangladesh.
“Every player wants to play in the World Cup. Many of our younger players also desired that opportunity. Unfortunately, it occurred as a result of political difficulties, and everyone is aware of the circumstances,” Mehidy Hasan Miraz remarked.
What happened after Bangladesh’s rejection?
Interestingly, the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports has also opened an official inquiry, indicating a significant shift in strategy following the country’s historic withdrawal from the ICC event.
The inquiry was led by Dr. AKM Wali Ullah, the Additional Secretary of Administration. Habibul Bashar, a former national team captain and chief selector for the Bangladesh Cricket Board, and barrister Faisal Dastagir were chosen to chair the panel.
After evaluating the situation, the panel concluded that it was a diplomatic failure, with the previous administration hastily requesting that Bangladesh’s matches be moved to Sri Lanka due to unproven security concerns.
Under Tamim Iqbal, the former administration has been openly attacked, with the new leadership claiming that it was the fault of both the government and the previous BCB administration that the Bengal Tigers were unable to capitalise on such a global opportunity.
BCB looks forward to improving relations with India.
Since then, following Bangladesh’s boycott of India, the cricketing relationship between the two countries has been severely strained, with both countries participating in a cold war after depriving each other of media rights for their respective matches.
However, recently, India-Bangladesh cricket ties have seen significant progress. Bangladesh recently sought media partners to show their interest in a potential India-Bangladesh white-ball bilateral series scheduled for September 2026.
The BCCI has yet to approve the arrangement, but it is understood that mutual development for the series is currently underway.
Discussion about this post