Bangladesh T20 World Cup replacement has been officially accepted and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has made it clear that the organization will not appeal against the decision of ICC to suspend the Bangladesh cricket team in the upcoming tournament and replace it with Scotland. The announcement not only ends the speculation and reports of possible legal or arbitration proceedings, but also enlightens me to the complexity of the intersection of sport, governance and national security issues which has resulted in the withdrawal of Bangladesh as one of the largest global events in cricket.
First, the BCB went into rapid motion to explain itself after a board meeting in Dhaka over the weekend. Amzad Hossain, the chairman of the board in media committee made it clear that Bangladesh had accepted the ruling of the ICC board. He ruled out previous claims that the BCB had addressed ICC dispute resolution committee and emphasized that no move had been made. Amzad reported that after the ICC was convinced that Bangladesh shows could not be moved to a neutral country like Sri Lanka, the board had no other option but to be contented with the situation.
The origins of the decision to substitute the Bangladesh T20 world cup will however be dated to last week ICC board meeting. In the same meeting the Bangladesh were given the information that they were to have their participation under the condition that they should travel to India where the tournament would be taking place. ICC clarified that, in case Bangladesh failed to declare their availability according to the current schedule and venue conditions they would be substituted by the team with the next available slots on the qualifying list. The result is an entry into the competition by that team, which was Scotland, after the fact.
After ICC issued the warning, the BCB also took the case to the government of Bangladesh, claiming that the national team would like to know whether the government of Bangladesh would allow them to take a trip to India. The government gave a resounding yes and it was loyal to its previous decision. Security/safety concerns with regard to the Bangladeshi players were not sorted out and the cabinet voted that they should not be sent. The BCB had established this position formally to the ICC.
Amzad described the situation in which the government had responded with a decision, and the ICC had requested the BCB to give an answer in a time-period of 24 hours. The board responded in a respectful and definite fashion saying that it could not allow Bangladesh to take part in the tournament under such circumstances. Following this answer, ICC went on with its decision to introduce the Bangladesh T20 World Cup substitute and they replaced it with Scotland.
At the same time, there has been an effort by the BCB to underline the fact that it was not in the decision of the administrators in cricket in isolation as well as an emotional issue. Amzad repeated that the board was subject to the directive of the government especially on matters of safety of the players. He emphasized that Bangladesh had not resorted to arbitration or even to legal redress or appeal, which indicated the intention to keep a cordial relationship with the ICC despite the dismay of failing to participate in a world tournament.
Lastly, internal changes also came to the BCB during the board meeting. Ishtiaque Sadeque was proved in this case to resign out of the position as a board director, purportedly because of personal reasons. Although not directly related to replacing the Bangladesh T20 World Cup, the resignation comes at a time of change and introspection in the sports of Bangladesh as it attempts to contend with the repercussions of the ICC ruling and strategize its future engagements both international and not.
On a final note, the T20 world cup substitution in Bangladesh is a historical event to not only the Bangladesh cricket but also the entire game. Although the decision leaves Bangladesh off one of the most significant events, it also highlights the realities of the national boards facing when larger political as well as security interests are involved. Indeed, the BCB has been more interested in complying and maintaining a long-term relationship rather than confronting the ICC in its ruling. It now becomes a matter of how Bangladesh recover or how Scotland use their new found chance in the international arena.
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