The International Cricket Council has denied accreditation to Bangladeshi journalists for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, stirring controversy and concern within the global sports media fraternity.
According to a report by NDTV, the decision comes days after the Bangladesh government announced its boycott of the T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be hosted in India. An ICC source cited in the report explained that the denial of accreditation and visas was linked directly to the Bangladeshi government’s recent remarks describing India as “unsafe for travel”.
“They have not been given visas or accreditation because the government kept saying it is unsafe to come to India,” an ICC official told NDTV, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
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Bangladesh journalists call move unprecedented
The development has drawn strong reactions from within Bangladesh’s sports journalism community. NDTV spoke to Rana Abbas, Sports Editor of Aajker Patrika, who described the situation as deeply upsetting and unprecedented.
“I would say this is extremely sad. In global sport, even journalists from non-participating countries are usually accommodated-FIFA is a clear example. This issue risks setting a damaging precedent and could also affect coverage of matches in Sri Lanka,” Abbas said.
He further noted that Bangladeshi journalists have been covering ICC events for decades without interruption. “For Bangladeshi journalists, facing such a blanket rejection for the first time is deeply disappointing,” he added.
Abbas also pointed out that such an incident had never occurred before. Bangladeshi journalists have covered ICC tournaments since before the country’s first World Cup appearance in 1999, including high-profile matches such as India vs Pakistan held in India.
Reports indicate that journalists who were denied accreditation have approached both the Bangladesh Sports Press Association (BSPA) and the Bangladesh Sports Journalists Community (BSJC) to determine their next course of action.
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Scotland to replace Bangladesh
Following Bangladesh’s boycott of the tournament, the ICC replaced them with Scotland in the competition. Scotland has been placed in Group C alongside England, Italy, Nepal and the West Indies. They are scheduled to play their opening match against the West Indies on February 7 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The Scottish side will be led by Richie Berrington. Scotland had previously featured in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007, nearly two decades ago, and will be looking to make an impact in the upcoming edition.
